SOCIALISM 

IN  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 


l-ULL^  G^T-TIT^ 


/2-7^'(^/ 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

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GIFT  OF 

Mrs,  Ben  B.  Lindsey 


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SOCIALISM    IN    THEORY   AND 
PRACTICE 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK    •    BOSTON   •    CHICAGO 
ATLANTA   •    SAN   FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Limited 

LONDON   •    BOMBAY   •    CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  Ltd. 

TORONTO 


SOCIALISM    IN    THEORY 
AND   PRACTICE 


BY  ; 

MORRIS    HILLQUIT  ] 

AUTHOR  OF   "HISTORY  OF   SOCIALISM   IN   THE  UNITED   STATES"  j 

1 
I 


Neto  gork 

THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

1910 

Aii  rights  reserved 


Copyright,  1909, 
By  THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.      Published  February,  1909.      Reprinted 
March,  June,  1909;  January,  1910. 


NortDooti  i3rf80 
S.  Cushintc  Co.  —  Biiu  iek  &  Smith  Co. 
Korwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


The  socialist  movement  has  grown  immensely  within 
the  last  decade,  and  its  growth  still  continues  unabated 
in  all  civilized  countries  of  the  world.  What  is  the 
secret  of  that  growth ;  what  are  the  aims  and  methods 
of  the  movement;  and  what  does  it  portend  for  the 
future  of  the  human  race  ?  These  are  questions  which 
persons  of  intellect  can  ignore  no  longer,  and  they  are 
questions  which  cannot  be  answered  without  much 
thought  and  study. 

In  this  book  I  have  endeavored  to  present  to  the 
public  a  brief  summary  of  the  socialist  philosophy  in  its 
bearing  on  the  most  important  social  institutions  and 
problems  of  our  time,  and  a  condensed  account  of  the 
history,  methods,  and  achievements  of  the  socialist 
movement  of  the  world. 

Socialism  is  a  criticism  of  modern  social  conditions, 
a  theory  of  social  progress,  an  ideal  of  social  organiza- 
tion, and  a  practical  movement  of  the  masses.  To  be 
fully  understood  it  must  be  studied  in  all  of  these  phases, 
and  the  fact  that  this  book  is  probably  the  first  attempt 
to  accomplish  that  task,  inadequate  as  that  attempt  may 
be,  is  sufficient  justification  for  its  publication. 

Grateful  acknowledgment  is  hereby  made  for  many 

valuable  suggestions  which  I  have  received  from   Mr. 

W.  J.  Ghent,  who  has  carefully  read  the  proofs,  and  from 

Mr.  Rufus  W.  Weeks,  who  has  read  the  manuscript. 

MORRIS   HILLQUIT. 
New  York,  January  lo,  1909. 

V 

lliCvSO 


CONTENTS 
PART   I 

THE  SOCIALIST  PHILOSOPHY  AND  MOVEMENT 


CHAPTER   I 

PAGE 

Introduction 3 


CHAPTER  n 
Socialism  and  Individualism 

The  System  of  Individualism 12 

The  Individual  and  Society l8 

Individualism  in  Industry 24 

The  Individual  under  Socialism 29 

CHAPTER   III 
Socialism  and  Ethics 

The  Essence  and  Scope  of  Ethics 36 

The  Evolution  of  the  Moral  Sense 46 

Class  Ethics 5^ 

The  Ethical  Ideal  and  Socialist  Morality         ....  58 

CHAPTER   IV 
Socialism  and  Law 

The  Law 66 

The  Feudal  System  of  Law 72 

The  Modern  System  of  Law    .         .         .         .         .         .         -  1^ 

Social  Legislation  and  Socialist  Jurisprudence  ...  84 

vii 


vm 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER   V 
Socialism  and  the  State 

FAGB 

Nature  and  Evolution  of  the  State 89 

The  Transitional  State 100 

The  Socialist  State 105 

Production  and  Distribution  of  Wealth  under  Socialism  .         .     in 

Incentive  under  Socialism nq 

The  Political  Structure  of  the  Socialist  State  .         .         .         .131 

CHAPTER   VI 
Socialism  and  Politics 


Politics,  Representative  Government  and  Political  Parties 

Classes  and  Class  Struggles  in  Modern  Society 

The  Class  Struggles  in  Politics 
.  The  Socialist  Party  in  Politics 
.Electoral  Tactics  of  the  Socialist  Party    . 

Parliamentary  Tactics  of  the  Socialist  Party 

Political  Achievements  of  Socialism 


144 

153 
161 

168 

174 
181 
190 


PART  II 

SOCIALISM  AND  REFORM 


CHAPTER    I 
Introduction  —  Socialists  and  Social  Reformers 


207 


CHAPTER   II 

The  Industrial  Reform  Movements 

Industrial  Reform 214 

Factory  Reform 215 

Shorter  Workday 218 

Child  Labor 224 

Woman  Labor 231 

The  Trade  Union  Movement 236 

Cooperative  Societies  of  Workingmen 242 


CONTENTS  IX 
CHAPTER    III 

PAGB 

Workingmen's  Insurance 254 

CHAPTER  IV 

The  Political  Reform  Movements 

Political  Reform 269  * 

Universal  Suffrage 272 

Proportional  Representation    .......  274 

Referendum,  Initiative  and  Right  of  Recall      ....  277 

Socialism  and  Woman  Suffrage 281 

CHAPTER  V 

Administrative  Reforms 

Government  Ownership 284 

Tax  Reforms 288 

The  Single  Tax 291 

Abolition  of  Standing  Armies 296 

CHAPTER   VI 

Social  Reform 

Crime  and  Vice 303 

Intemperance 309 

The  Housing  of  the  Poor 314 

APPENDIX 
Historical  Sketch  of  the  Socialist  Movement 

Early  History 320 

Germany 335 

France 337 

Russia 340 

Austria 345 

England 346 

Italy 348 

Belgium  and  Holland        .......  349 

The  Scandinavian  Countries     ......  350 

United  States 351-' 

The  New  International 354 

Index 357 


PART   I 

THE   SOCIALIST  PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 


CHAPTER  I 

INTRODUCTION 

The  history  of  our  civilization  presents  one  unbroken 
chain  of  social  changes.  The  interval  between  the  primi- 
tive tribe  of  cave-dwellers  and  modern  industrial  society 
is  filled  with  a  variety  of  intermediate  social  types. 

Each  of  these  types  constitutes  a  separate  phase  of 
civilization.  Within  the  same  civilization  each  type  is 
superior  to  the  one  preceding  it,  and  inferior  to  the  one 
succeeding  it.  Each  phase  of  civilization  is  evolved  from 
the  preceding  phase  and  gives  birth  to  the  succeeding  phase. 
Each  phase  of  civilization  passes  through  the  stages  of 
formation,  bloom,  and  decay. 

The  present  phase  of  our  civilization  forms  no  excep- 
tion to  this  immutable  rule  of  social  development.  We 
have  reached  a  state  vastly  superior  to  all  conditions  of  the 
past.  Men  in  modern  society  on  the  whole  enjoy  more 
individual  freedom  and  security,  more  physical  comforts 
and  intellectual  and  esthetic  pleasures  than  did  the  sav- 
ages and  members  of  societies  based  on  slavery  or  serf- 
dom. 

But  we  have  not  reached  perfection.  We  never  shall 
reach  perfection.  A  state  of  perfection  in  society  would 
imply  the  arrest  of  all  human  endeavors  and  progress,  the 

3 


4  THE   SOCIALIST    PHILOSOPHY   AND    MOVEMENT 

death  of  civilization.  It  is  improvement,  not  perfection, 
for  v^hich  we  are  striving,  and  our  contemporary  social 
organization  is  capable  of  improvement  just  as  all  societies 
of  the  past  were. 

Our  social  order  of  to-day  did  not  spring  into  existence 
suddenly  and  full-fledged.  It  developed  gradually  from 
preceding  social  conditions,  and  it  is  still  in  process  of 
evolution.  It  has  had  its  period  of  formation,  and  the 
socialists  contend  that  it  has  passed  its  period  of  bloom. 
It  has  entered  on  the  stage  of  decay  and  must  be  followed 
by  a  new  phase  of  civilization  of  a  more  advanced  type. 

The  all-important  factor  in  modern  society  is  industry. 
In  former  ages  industry  —  that  is,  production  of  goods  for 
exchange  —  played  a  rather  subordinate  part  in  the  lives 
of  the  nations.  Agriculture  was  the  basis  of  the  com- 
munity. 

But  recent  times,  and  particularly  the  last  century,  have 
witnessed  a  stupendous  industrial  growth.  The  modest 
workshop  of  former  ages  has  been  superseded  by  the  huge 
modern  factory;  the  simple,  almost  primitive  tool  of  the 
old-time  mechanic  has  developed  into  the  gigantic  machine 
of  to-day;  and  the  power  of  steam  and  electricity  has 
increased  the  productivity  of  labor  a  hundred  fold.  New 
objects  of  use  have  been  invented,  new  needs  have  been 
created,  while  the  railroads,  steamships  and  other  im- 
proved means  of  communication  and  distribution  have 
united  the  entire  civilized  world  into  one  international 
market. 

This  industrial  revolution  has  brought  in  its  wake  a 
radical  change  of  social  institutions.  It  has  created  new 
classes  of  society.  The  privileged  type  of  former  ages, 
the  landowning  and  titled  nobleman,   the  courtier  and 


INTRODUCTION  5 

warrior,  has  been  relegated  to  the  background,  and  in  his 
place  has  arisen  the  captain  of  industry  —  the  modern 
capitalist. 

With  the  ancient  aristocracy  have  also  disappeared  the 
ancient  types  of  the  dependent  class,  the  slave  and  the 
serf,  and  their  place  has  been  taken  by  the  modern  wage 
worker. 

In  the  earlier  stages  of  its  career  the  capitalist  class  was 
revolutionary  and  useful.  It  abolished  absolute  monarch- 
ies and  introduced  modern  representative  government,  it 
rooted  out  old  prejudices  and  beliefs,  it  tore  down  the  arti- 
ficial barriers  between  nations,  it  gave  to  the  world  the 
most  marvelous  inventions,  and  ushered  in  a  distinctly 
superior  system  of  society. 

But  these  achievements  belong  largely  to  the  pioneer 
days  of  capitalism,  to  the  period  when  the  modern  indus- 
tries were  in  process  of  formation.  To-day  our  prin- 
cipal industries  are  fully  organized.  They  have  largely 
been  reduced  to  mere  routine  and  their  progress  depends 
but  little  on  individual  initiative. 

The  typical  capitaHst  of  to-day  has  long  ceased  to  be 
the  manager  of  the  industries.  He  is  "engaged"  in  what- 
ever industry  the  vicissitudes  of  the  stock  market  and  the 
tricks  of  stock  jobbery  may  thrust  upon  him.  It  may 
happen  to  be  a  railway  system  or  a  gas  plant,  a  mine  or  a 
steel  foundry,  a  rubber  factory  or  water  works,  or  all  of 
them  in  turn.  He  need  not  know,  and  as  a  rule  he  does 
not  know,  the  intimate  workings  of  the  industry  he  controls. 
The  actual  work  of  management  and  operation  is  done  by 
hired  labor,  whether  such  labor  be  that  of  the  high-priced 
superintendent  or  that  of  a  common  laborer  employed 
at  starvation  wages.    There  is  hardly  a  capitalist  to-day 


6  THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

whose  existence  is  necessary  to  the  continuance  of  any 
essential  industry.  The  days  of  the  actual  usefulness  of 
the  capitalist  class  in  the  social  economy  of  the  nation  are 
rapidly  passing.  And  like  so  many  other  classes  in  history 
under  similar  conditions,  the  capitalists  have  become 
reactionary,  and  the  regime  developed  by  them  has  be- 
come irrational,  unjust  and  oppressive. 

In  the  merciless  war  of  competition  the  big  capitalist 
enterprises  are  gradually  extinguishing  the  smaller  inde- 
pendent concerns.  Our  "national"  wealth  and  principal 
industries  concentrate  in  the  hands  of  ever  fewer  combines. 
Trusts  and  monopolies  are  becoming  the  modern  form  of 
industrial  organization.  A  new  capitalist  type  is  thus  de- 
veloped, the  type  of  the  trust  magnate  and  multi-million- 
aire. 

But  the  large  masses  of  the  people  share  but  little  in 
the  benefits  of  this  unprecedented  growth  of  wealth. 
While  a  certain  portion  of  the  working  class,  the  trained 
or  skilled  laborers,  probably  enjoy  to-day  larger  material 
comforts  than  did  their  ancestors  in  the  past,  the  increase 
of  their  comforts  does  not  keep  pace  with  the  increase  of 
the  general  productivity  and  wealth.  The  condition  of 
this  favored  class  of  the  working  population  is  one  of 
absolute  improvement  but  of  relative  deterioration.  And 
side  by  side  with  the  more  fortunate  strata  of  the  working 
class  there  are  the  large  masses  of  laborers  whose  conditions 
of  life  have  greatly  deteriorated,  absolutely  as  well  as 
relatively.  Millions  of  workingmen  maintain  themselves 
with  difficulty  above  the  bare  margin  of  starvation,  while 
large  masses  of  the  population,  rendered  "superfluous" 
by  the  invention  of  improved  machinery,  are  driven  to 
vagabondage  and  forced  into  the  paths  of  vice  and  crime. 


INTRODUCTION  7 

The  boundless  luxuries  of  the  few  find  their  logical  coun- 
terpart in  the  dire  misery  of  the  many. 

In  the  mad  capitalist  race  for  profits,  morals  are  useless 
and  cumbersome  ballast.  The  earlier  merchant  and 
manufacturer  had  some  sense  of  commercial  probity.  The 
modern  trust  magnate  has  none.  To  him  all  means  are 
fair  so  long  as  they  satisfy  his  greed.  His  ideal  is  to  in- 
crease his  power,  to  get  possession  of  all  the  sources  of 
wealth  of  his  country,  to  own  his  fellow-men,  body  and 
soul. 

To  reach  this  aim  he  corrupts  legislatures,  buys  courts 
of  justice,  bribes  public  officials  and  pollutes  the  public 
press. 

The  "interests  of  industry  "  — his  interests  —  shape  the 
entire  life  of  modern  nations.  They  influence  our  laws, 
dominate  our  politics,  direct  our  public  opinion,  determine 
our  internal  and  external  policy,  and  decide  upon  war  and 
peace  between  nations.  The  trust  magnate  is  a  more 
dangerous  potentate  than  any  pohtical  despot. 

And  these  conditions  are  not  mere  accidental  abuses; 
they  are  the  necessary  results  of  our  industrial  institutions. 
Even  the  beneficiaries  of  these  institutions  are  without 
power  to  change  them.  The  capitalists  are  driven  into 
the  fatal  course  by  the  inexorable  laws  of  industrial  de- 
velopment. We  may  well  foresee  a  time,  if  the  present 
order  lasts  long  enough,  when  practically  all  of  our  most 
important  industries  will  have  become  trusts,  when  the 
entire  wealth  of  the  nations  and  all  the  powers  of  govern- 
ment will  be  in  the  hands  of  a  small  number  of  monopolists, 
and  when  the  people  will  depend  upon  them  absolutely 
for  their  physical,  intellectual  and  moral  existence. 

Such  conditions  are  not  unparalleled  in  history.    The 


u 


8  THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

Roman  Empire  found  itself  in  such  a  situation  in  the 
fourth  and  fifth  centuries  of  our  era,  and  Roman  civiliza- 
tion succumbed.  France  faced  a  similar  crisis  thirteen 
hundred  years  later,  but  the  French  nation  suppressed  the 
dangerous  order  and  built  a  better  and  more  vigorous 
society  on  its  ruins. 

Will  the  modern  nation  share  the  fate  of  Rome,  or  fol- 
low the  example  of  France? 

The  answer  to  this  momentous  question  is  contained  in 
the  question  itself. 

Rome  perished  for  the  lack  of  a  class  to  save  it.  The 
slaves  were  beyond  the  pale  of  Roman  society,  and  the 
proletarians  of  the  capital  and  the  provinces  were  too 
ignorant,  demoralized  and  feeble  to  combat  the  greedy  and 
profligate  patricians.  The  degenerate  Roman  population 
fell  an  easy  prey  to  the  advancing  barbarian  hordes. 

In  France,  on  the  other  hand,  the  haughty  and  parasitic 
nobility  was  confronted  by  the  men  of  science,  industry, 
commerce  and  labor,  the  vigorous  and  intelligent  "third 
estate."  The  "third  estate"  saved  France,  even  though 
the  salvation  was  accomplished  at  the  cost  of  a  revolution. 

Modern  society  has  developed  a  new  "third  estate,"  — 
the  industrial  working  class.  The  working  class  to-day  is 
the  principal  social  power  operating  against  the  formation 
of  a  capitalist  oligarchy.  And  it  is  a  power  to  be  reckoned 
with.  The  modern  workingmen  are  not  the  helots  of 
ancient  Greece,  nor  the  proletarians  of  ancient  Rome,  nor 
the  serfs  of  mediaeval  ages.  They  are  more  intelligent 
and  better  organized  than  any  dependent  class  in  the  past : 
their  conditions  of  existence  and  instinct  of  self-preserva- 
tion naturally  array  them  against  the  present  system  of 
exploitation  of  labor,  and  force  them  into  active  resistance 


INTRODUCTION  9 

against  it.  As  capitalism  grows  more  acute  and  menac- 
ing, the  cohorts  of  labor  become  more  unified,  powerful 
and  aggressive,  and  more  fully  able  and  determined  to 
carry  their  struggles  to  victory. 

Only  half  a  century  ago  the  labor  movement  was  barely 
in  its  inception,  weak  in  numbers,  inefficient  in  organiza- 
tion and  uncertain  in  its  aims.  To-day  the  working- 
men  are  organized  in  legions  of  powerful  trade  unions, 
trained  and  drilled  in  the  everyday  battles  for  the  advance- 
ment of  their  conditions  of  life.  In  a  large  number  of 
countries  they  have  created  immense  cooperative  estab- 
lishments successfully  competing  with  the  capitalist  enter- 
prises in  the  same  industries.  In  all  civilized  countries  of 
the  world  they  have  developed  a  socialist  movement,  so 
uniform  in  its  aims  and  methods,  so  persistent  in  its 
struggles,  so  inspiring  in  its  propaganda  and  so  irresistible 
in  its  spread,  that  with  perhaps  the  single  exception  of 
early  Christianity  the  movement  stands  unparalleled  in  the 
annals  of  written  history. 

The  trade  unions  fight  the  immediate  and  particular 
battles  of  the  workers  in  the  factories,  mills,  mines  and 
shops,  and  educate  their  members  to  a  sense  of  their 
economic  rights.  The  cooperative  labor  enterprises  train 
their  members  in  the  collective  operation  and  democratic 
management  of  industries.  The  socialist  parties  emphasize 
the  general  and  ultimate  interests  of  the  entire  working 
class,  and  train  their  members  in  political  action  and 
in  the  administration  of  the  affairs  of  government  and 
state. 

Marching  over  different  routes,  operating  with  different 
methods  and  conscious  or  unconscious  of  the  effects  of 
their  own  activity,  all  these  forms  of  the  labor  movement 


10        THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 

make  for  one  inevitable  goal :   the  building  up  of  a  new 
and  regenerated  society. 

And  the  workingmen  are  not  alone  in  this  movement. , 
They  receive  large  and  ever  larger  accretions  from  -all 
other  classes  —  from  the  small  business  men  displaced 
by  the  trust,  the  professionals  reduced  to  the  state  of 
"intellectual  proletarians";  the  farmers,  exploited  less 
directly  but  not  less  effectively  by  trustified  capital,  and 
even  from  the  ranks  of  the  capitalist  class  itself.  The 
number  of  men  of  the  "better  classes"  who  embrace  the 
cause  of  the  people  from  motives  of  enlightened  self- 
interest  or  from  purely  ethical  motives  grows  as  the  evils 
of  the  decaying  capitalist  system  become  more  apparent. 
These  "  desertions"  from  the  ranks  of  the  dominant  classes 
into  the  camp  of  the  subjugated  class,  are  an  infallible  sign 
of  the  approaching  collapse  of  the  rule  of  the  former. 

The  economic  development  which  has  thus  furnished 
the  conditions  for  a  radical  transformation  of  society  and 
produced  the  forces  to  accomplish  it,  is  also  building  up 
the  basis  of  that  transformation. 

The  great  modern  trust  organizes  industry  on  a  national 
scale;  it  regulates  the  production  and  distribution  of 
commodities,  and  brings  all  workers  of  the  country  under 
one  administration.  A  trustified  industry  is  in  its  essence 
a  nationalized  industry.  It  would  be  just  as  easy  to-day 
for  a  governmental  agency  to  run  such  an  industry  as  it  is 
for  the  individual  trust  magnates  or  their  agents. 

And  it  would  be  much  more  just.  Our  highly  effective 
system  of  industry  is  the  achievement  of  many  generations, 
the  heritage  of  all  mankind ;  our  marvelous  tools  of  pro- 
duction and  distribution  are  the  fruit  of  the  collective 
industry  and  intellect  of  the  laboring  population ;  they  are 


INTRODUCTION  1 1 

operated  collectively  by  the  whole  working  class,  and  they 
are  indispensable  to  the  life  of  the  entire  nation.  In  equity 
and  justice  the  capitalist  has  no  better  title  to  the  modern 
social  tools  than  the  slaveholder  had  to  his  chattel  slaves. 

Socialism  advocates  the  transfer  of  ownership  in  the 
social  tools  of  production —  the  land,  factories,  machinery ^ 
railroads,  mines,  etc.  —  from  the  individual  capitalists 
to  the  people,  to  be  operated  for  the  benefit  of  all. 

This  program  has  been  denounced  as  confiscatory  and 
revolutionary,  but  it  is  no  more  so  than  was  the  abolition 
of  chattel  slavery.  It  has  been  ridiculed  as  Utopian  and 
fantastic,  but  it  is  no  more  so  than  the  demands  of  the 
eighteenth  century  capitalist  for  the  abolition  of  the  privi- 
leges of  birth  were  to  his  contemporaries. 

Our  social  progress  is  a  movement  towards  perfect 
democracy.  The  successive  stages  of  our  civilization  mark 
the  disappearance  of  one  class  privilege  after  another. 
Why  should  mankind  halt  in  reverence  and  awe  before  the 
privilege  of  wealth?  When  an  heir  to  millions  is  born 
to-day,  he  has  the  same  exceptional  position  in  society  and 
the  same  power  over  thousands  of  his  fellow-men  that  the 
newborn  duke  or  marquis  had  in  times  past;  and  the 
justice  and  logic  of  the  situation  are  the  same  in  both  cases. 
A  true  democracy  is  one  in  which  all  babes  are  born  alike, 
and  all  human  beings  enjoy  the  same  rights  and  oppor- 
timities. 


CHAPTER   II 

SOCIALISM   AND   INDIVIDUALISM 

The  System  of  Individualism 

Socialism  and  individualism  are  the  two  main  contend- 
ing principles  underlying  all  modern  social  theories  and 
movements.  Both  ideas  are,  comparatively  speaking, 
new  in  the  history  of  human  thought,  and  the  social 
philosophy  based  on  individualism  is  the  older  of  the  two. 
Some  writers  discern  the  origin  of  the  idea  of  individualism 
in  the  movement  of  the  Reformation,  and  its  first  practical 
application  in  the  demand  for  liberty  of  the  conscience, 
i.e.,  the  religious  self-determination  of  the  individual. 
The  idea  of  religious  liberty  according  to  the  noted  Russian 
scholar,  Peter  Struve,  led  to  the  broader  conception  of  the 
liberty  of  the  individual,  and  the  latter  to  the  theory  of 
political  self-government  of  the  nations. 

"In  connection  with  the  idea  of  the  self-determination 
of  the  individual,"  he  observes,  "the  idea  of  the  self- 
government  of  society  originates  in  the  same  surround- 
ings and  under  the  same  conditions  and  becomes  a  mov- 
ing force.  In  the  study  of  the  events  and  ideas  of  the 
English  revolution  of  the  seventeenth  century,  nothing  is 
more  striking  than  the  fact  that  that  wonderful  period 
produced,  as  with  one  blow  and  in  quite  finished  form,  the 
idea  of  individual  liberty,  liberalism,  as  well  as  the  idea 
of  political  self-government,  democracy."  * 

The  theory  is  no  doubt  historically  true,  but  it  utterly 

*  "Individualism  i  Socialism,"  Polyarnaya  Zvesda,  No.  ii. 

12 


SOCIALISM   AND   INDIVIDUALISM  1 3 

fails  to  account  for  the  causes  of  the  phenomenon.  The 
religious  movement  of  the  Reformation  was  one  of  the 
manifestations  of  the  struggle  for  individualism,  but  not  its 
cause.  The  Reformation  and  the  nascent  idea  of  indi- 
vidualism involved  in  it  were  but  the  symptoms  and  results 
of  a  deeper  and  more  material  process  —  the  birth  of  the 
modern  social  and  industrial  system. 

The  modern  philosophy  of  individualism  cam.e  into  life 
as  a  reaction  against  the  excessive  centralization  of  the 
feudal  state  and  church,  and  as  a  protest  against  the  un- 
checked powers  of  the  crown,  nobility  and  clergy  over  the 
population,  and  especially  over  the  growing  class  of  in- 
dustrials. "Individual  Liberty"  was  the  battle  cry  with 
which  the  young  bourgeoisie  (the  industrial  and  trading 
class)  entered  the  arena  of  political  struggle.  That 
battle  cry  meant  for  it  freedom  of  competition  —  Industrial 
Liberty ;  the  right  to  use  the  powers  of  the  state  for  the 
advancement  of  manufacture  and  commerce  —  Political 
Liberty ;  the  freedom  from  interference  by  the  church  with 
the  political  and  industrial  management  of  the  people  — 
Religious  Liberty ;  and  above  all  it  meant  the  freedom  and 
sacredness  of  private  property.  "What  they  (the  liberal 
bourgeois)  meant  by  the  freedom  of  the  individual,"  says 
Mr.  E.  Belfort  Bax,  "was,  first  and  foremost,  the  liberty 
of  private  property  as  such,  to  be  controlled  in  its  operation 
by  naught  else  than  the  will  of  the  individual  possessing  it. 
What  was  cared  for  was  not  so  much  the  liberty  of  the 
individual  as  the  liberty  of  private  property.  The  liberty 
of  the  individual  as  such  was  secondary.  It  was  as  the 
possessor  and  controller  of  property  that  it  was  specially 
desired  to  assure  his  liberty."  ^ 

*  "  Socialism  and  Individualism,"  London,  Personal  Rights  Series,  p.  lo. 


14       THE  SOCIALIST  PHILOSOPHV  AND   MOVEMENT 

The  idea  of  individual  liberty  thus  conceived  animates 
all  phases  of  the  struggle  of  the  bourgeoisie  against  feudal 
society.  It  is  at  the  bottom  of  Rousseau's  "Social  Con- 
tract" and  the  social  philosophy  of  the  Encyclopedists; 
it  asserts  itself  in  the  principle  of  non-interference  pro- 
claimed by  Adam  Smith  and  the  founders  of  classical 
political  economy;  and  it  is  the  true  meaning  of  the  ra- 
tionalistic criticisms  of  Voltaire  and  his  followers. 

Individual  liberty  with  or  without  other  verbal  adorn- 
ments was  the  motto  that  inspired  the  battles  of  the  English 
middle  classes  under  Cromwell  towards  the  end  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  and  those  of  the  French  "third  estate" 
and  the  American  colonists  a  century  later. 

"All  men  are  born  and  continue  free,"  ^  and  "All  men 
are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  the  '  inalienable  right ' 
of  liberty,"  ^  were  the  maxims  adopted  as  the  foundation 
of  all  political  constitutions  by  the  victorious  bourgeoisie 
of  all  countries. 

The  battles  fought  by  the  pre-Revolutionary  bourgeoisie 
in  the  name  of  Individual  Liberty  have  given  to  civiliza- 
tion a  few  great  acquisitions.  They  have  to  a  large  extent 
emancipated  man  in  the  purely  individual  sphere  of  his 
life,  and  rendered  into  his  own  keeping  his  beliefs,  views 
and  tastes,  his  individual  mind  and  soul.  The  freedom 
of  press,  speech,  conscience  and  person  are  such  acquisi- 
tions, and  they  are  of  everlasting  benefit  to  mankind. 

But  the  historical  watchword  had  an  altogether  different 
fate  in  the  field  of  politics  and  industry. 

In  the  revolutionary  period  of  the  career  of  our  ruling 
classes  "Individual  Liberty"  in  those  fields  stood  princi- 

•  French  Declaration  of  the  Rights  of  Man. 

*  American  Declaration  of  Independence. 


SOCIALISM   AND    INDIVIDUALISM  1 5 

pally  for  freedom  from  arbitrary  political,  industrial  and 
social  restraint,  but  with  the  fall  of  feudalism  and  the 
removal  of  feudal  restraints,  the  phrase  lost  its  original 
significance.  The  manufacturing  and  trading  classes,  as 
the  struggling  and  subjected  bourgeois  of  the  seventeenth 
and  eighteenth  centuries,  appealed  to  the  sacred  right  of 
individual  freedom  as  a  means  to  deliver  them  from  the 
oppression  of  the  ruling  classes  of  their  time ;  but  the  pos- 
sessing classes  of  the  nineteenth  and  twentieth  centuries, 
themselves  in  power  and  confronting  a  new  dependent 
class,  the  class  of  wage  workers,  invoke  the  old  god  of  their 
fathers  only  in  order  to  strengthen  their  own  rule.  The 
"Individual  Liberty"  of  the  modern  capitalist  has  come 
very  largely  to  stand  for  the  right  to  deal  with  his  employees 
as  he  pleases,  the  unrestricted  right  to  exploit  men,  women 
and  children  of  the  working  class,  and  to  be  free  from  the 
interference  of  the  state  in  his  process  of  exploitation.  An 
economic  order  based  entirely  on  the  principles  of  "laissez- 
faire,"  and  a  political  organization  of  the  type  characterized 
by  Huxley  as  "Administrative  Nihilism"  are  the  ideals  of 
the  modern  priests  of  the  god  "Individual  Liberty." 
In  the  hands  of  the  capitalist  individual  liberty  has  de- 
generated into  individual  license,  its  philosophy  is  that  of 
shortsighted  egoism.  The  most  consistent  and  logical 
representative  of  that  philosophy  is  probably  Max  Stirner, 
whose  work,  "The  Ego  and  His  Own,"  has  only  recently, 
more  than  sixty  years  after  its  first  appearance,  been  placed 
before  the  English-reading  bourgeois  to  be  acclaimed  by 
them  with  unbounded  delight.  The  views  of  that  philoso- 
pher of  individualism  may  be  summed  up  in  the  follow- 
ing two  brief  quotations  from  the  work  mentioned  :  — 
"Away  then  with  every  concern  that  is  not  altogether 


1 6       THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY  AND    MOVEMENT 

my  concern !  You  think  at  least  '  the  good  cause '  must 
be  my  concern.  What's  good  and  what's  bad  !  Why,  I 
myself  am  my  concern,  and  I  am  neither  good  nor  bad. 
Neither  has  meaning  for  me. 

"The  divine  is  God's  concern;  the  human  man's. 
My  concern  is  neither  the  divine  nor  the  human,  not  the 
true,  good,  just,  free,  etc.,  but  solely  what  is  mine,  and  it 
is  not  a  general  one,  but  is  unique,  as  I  am  unique. 

"Nothing  is  more  to  me  than  myself."  * 

And  again :  — 

"Every  state  is  a  despotism,  be  the  despot  one  or  (as 
one  is  likely  to  imagine  about  a  republic),  if  all  be  the  lords, 
i.e.,  despotize  one  over  the  other."  ^ 

And  in  this  extreme  view  of  individual  freedom  the  liberal 
capitalists  find  themselves  entirely  in  accord  with  the 
radical  anarchists.  Both  would  rob  society  of  all  its 
social  functions.  Both  base  their  philosophy  on  individual 
competition  and  the  brutal  struggle  for  existence  rather 
than  on  the  principle  of  human  cooperation,  both  make  an 
idol  of  individual  liberty,  both  suffer  from  a  morbid  exag- 
geration of  the  Ego,  and  both  sanction  all  means  to  attain 
the  end  of  individual  happiness. 

The  only  difference  between  the  conservative  and  patri- 
otic capitalist  and  the  violent  anarchist  is  that  the  former 
represents  the  "individualism"  of  the  rich,  and  the  latter 
that  of  the  poor. 

The  philosophy  of  individualism  supplies  a  moral  and 
pseudo-scientific  sanction  for  the  economic  struggle  be- 
tween man  and  man,  and  appeals  to  the  different  classes  of 
the  population  favorably  or  unfavorably  according  to  their 

*  Max  Stirner,  "The  Ego  and  His  Own,"  New  York,  1907,  p.  6. 
'  Ihid.,  p.  256. 


SOCIALISM   AND    INDIVIDUALISM  1 7 

chances  and  position  in  that  struggle.  The  ruling  classes 
with  their  overwhelming  economic  powers  are  best 
equipped  for  the  uneven  struggle  of  existence;  they  are 
bound  to  prevail  in  it  and  to  reap  all  the  advantages  of 
the  victory  if  not  interfered  with  —  they  are,  therefore, 
naturally  inclined  to  individualism. 

The  dependent  and  non-possessing  classes,  on  the  other 
hand,  are  powerless  in  the  individual  struggle  for  existence 
under  prevailing  conditions.  They  stand  in  need  of  social 
protection  against  the  abuses  of  the  dominant  class,  and 
thus  their  strength  lies  in  concerted  action  and  cooperation. 
To  the  intelligent  workingmen,  individualism  is  as  repel- 
lent as  it  is  hostile  to  their  interests — they  naturally  lean 
towards  the  opposite  philosophy.  Socialism  is  the  mani- 
festation of  the  working  class  revolt  against  the  excessive 
individualism  of  the  capitalists,  just  as  individualism 
appeared  originally  as  the  expression  of  the  revolt  of 
the  bourgeoisie  against  the  excessive  centralization  of  the 
ancient  regime. 

The  frequent  and  heated  modern  discussions  on  the 
merits  and  demerits  of  the  "systems"  of  individualism 
and  socialism  are,  therefore,  at  bottom  only  the  theoretical 
and  somewhat  veiled  expression  of  the  practical  struggles 
between  the  ruling  and  dependent  classes  of  our  times. 

In  the  words  of  Sidney  Ball,  "Socialism  and  Individual- 
ism, when  contrasted,  have  an  economic  connotation,"  * 
but  in  ordinary  discussion  they  assume,  as  a  rule,  the  guise 
of  purely  abstract  political  or  philosophical  issues. 

These  issues  between  the  "individualists"  and  the 
socialists  are  many  in  number  and  multiform  in  character, 

'  "Socialism  and  Individualism,"  in  Economic  Review,  Vol.  VII, 
p.  490. 

C 


l8       THE    SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 

but  for  the  convenience  of  treatment  they  may  all  be 
grouped  under  the  following  three  main  heads:  — 

1.  The  Relations  of  the  Individual  to  Society. 

2.  The  Mutual  Relations  of  Individuals  in  Production. 

3.  The  Fate  of    Individual    Liberty  under  a   System 
of  Socialism. 

We  shall  consider  the  points  presented  by  each  of  these 
three  subjects  separately. 

The  Individual  and  Society 

At  the  bottom  of  the  individualist  philosophy  in  politics 
lies  the  conception  that  organized  society  is  a  mere  aggre- 
gation of  individuals  freely  and  deliberately  associating 
for  certain  common  purposes  —  a  sort  of  business  part- 
nership which  may  be  formed,  shaped  and  dissolved  by 
the  contracting  parties  at  will.  In  this  view  of  our  social 
organization  every  member  of  modern  society  is  an  inde- 
pendent party  to  the  "social  contract"  who  has  entered 
into  contractual  relations  with  society  in  order  to  gain 
some  individual  advantages  and  who  may  cancel  these 
relations  if  the  sacrifices  imposed  on  him  should  exceed 
such  advantages.  The  logical  result  of  these  views  is  an 
attitude  of  jealousy  and  suspicion  towards  organized 
society  or  the  "state,"*  an  apprehension  that  the  latter 
may  strive  to  exact  from  the  individual  more  than  he  has 
bargained  to  give,  that  it  may  "exceed  the  sphere  of  its 
legitimate  functions. 


)>2 


•  For  the  purposes  of  the  present  discussion  the  terms  are  here  em- 
ployed interchangeably. 

^  M.  Yves  Guyot,  the  leading  apostle  of  individualism  in  France, 
would  limit  the  activities  of  the  state  to  the  following  functions:  — 

"i.   To  guarantee  exterior  and  interior  security. 


SOCIALISM   AND   INDIVIDUALISM  1 9 

This  somewhat  crude  social  philosophy  found  its  clearest 
expression  in  the  French  pre-Revolutionary  "literature  of 
enlightenment";  it  was  the  key  to  the  social  theories  of 
the  English  Utilitarian  school  of  Locke,  Bentham  and 
Mill,  and  it  held  practically  undisputed  sway  of  the  human 
mind  until  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century.  The 
doctrine  is  most  naively  asserted  in  the  Massachusetts 
Bill  of  Rights,  in  the  following  language:  "The  body 
politic  is  formed  by  a  voluntary  association  of  individuals; 
it  is  a  social  compact  by  which  the  whole  people  covenants 
with  each  citizen  and  each  citizen  with  the  whole  people, 
that  all  shall  be  governed  by  certain  laws  for  the  common 
good." 

But  the  discoveries  in  the  domain  of  organic  evolution 
and  the  growing  recognition  of  the  laws  which  are  oper- 
ating to  shape  individual  life  everywhere,  finally  caused 
the  students  of  social  life  and  phenomena  to  subject  their 
views  to  a  critical  examination.  Conditions  of  social 
existence,  past  and  present,  were  carefully  investigated 
and  collated,  and  laws  of  social  development  were  gradu- 
ally established. 

In  the  light  of  the  newly  acquired  knowledge  the  a  priori 
social  theories  of  the  early  thinkers  had  to  be  abandoned 
one  by  one,  and  to-day  it  is  quite  generally  accepted  that 
organized  society  is  not  an  arbitrary  invention,  but  the 
result  of  a  definite  and  logical  process  of  historical  de- 
velopment. 

It  is  probable  that  men  never  were  purely  individual 

"2.  To  secure  to  each  individual  the  freedom  to  dispose  of  his  per- 
son and  the  freedom  of  the  environment  in  which  he  must  act. 

"3.    Not  to  intervene  in  contracts  except  to  enforce  their  performance." 
"Le  Socialisme  et  L'Individualisme,"  Journal  des  Economistes,  June, 
1898. 


20       THE  SOCIALIST  PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 

beings,  but  that  they  evolved  from  gregarious  or  social 
ancestors  in  the  kingdom  of  animal  life.  "As  far  as  we 
can  go  back  in  the  pala^o-ethnology  of  mankind,"  observes 
Kropotkin,  "we  find  men  living  in  societies  —  in  tribes 
similar  to  those  of  the  higher  mammals."  And  further: 
"The  earliest  traces  of  man,  dating  from  the  glacial  or  the 
early  post-glacial  period,  afford  unmistakable  proofs  of 
man  having  lived  even  then  in  societies.  Isolated  finds  of 
stone  implements,  even  from  the  old  stone  age,  are  very 
rare;  on  the  contrary,  wherever  one  flint  implement  is 
discovered,  others  are  sure  to  be  found,  in  most  cases  in 
very  large  quantities.  At  a  time  when  men  were  dwelling 
in  caves,  or  under  occasionally  protruding  rocks,  in  com- 
pany with  mammals  now  extinct,  and  hardly  succeeded  in 
making  the  roughest  sorts  of  flint  hatchets,  they  already 
knew  the  advantages  of  life  in  societies."  ^ 

The  entire  history  of  man's  progress  has  been  one  of 
increasing  growth  and  importance  of  his  social  organiza- 
tion. According  to  Lewis  H.  Morgan,^  whose  studies  of 
social  development  are  among  the  most  complete  and 
reliable  contributions  to  modern  sociology,  the  first  definite 
form  of  social  organization  is  the  primitive  family  or  Gens, 
which  still  prevails  among  certain  savages.  This  is  a 
rather  loose  form  of  organization,  consisting  of  a  body  of 
human  beings  descended  from  a  common  ancestor.  The 
next  step  in  social  development  is  the  Association  of 
Several  Gentes  or  Phratry,  which  is  followed  by  the 
closer  and  more  complex  organization  of  the  Tribe, 
a  union  of  many  gentes  speaking  a  common  dialect  and 
occupying  a  common  territory.     From  the  Tribe   to  the 

*  P.  Kropotkin,  "Mutual  Aid  a  Factor  of  Evolution,"  London,  1902, 
pp.  79,  80.  ^  "Ancient  Society." 


SOCIALISM   AND   INDIVIDUALISM  21 

Confederacy  of  Tribes,  which  is  formed  for  mutual 
defense,  and  gradually  and  naturally  develops  into  the 
Nation,  there  is  but  one  step. 

This  in  brief  is  the  history  of  social  growth  in  ancient 
society.  With  the  development  of  property  in  goods  and 
land,  the  social  organization  gradually  transformed  itself 
into  a  political  society  based  on  territorial  relations.  The 
Township,  the  County  and  the  National  Domain  or  State, 
are  the  successive  steps  of  that  development. 

Thus  mankind  has  imperceptibly  evolved  from  an  aggre- 
gation of  loosely  connected  social  units  to  the  present  state 
of  society,  in  which  the  entire  globe  is  divided  politically 
into  a  very  small  number  of  governments  compactly  and 
closely  organized. 

The  process  took  countless  ages  for  its  accomplishment 
and  was  in  all  its  phases  determined  by  the  instinctive  needs 
of  mankind.  The  successive  types  of  social  organization, 
ever  stronger  and  more  compact,  were  evolved  in  the  in- 
cessant struggle  for  existence  as  efficient  weapons  in  that 
struggle.  "The  state,"  says  Professor  Ward,  "  is  a  natural 
product,  as  much  as  an  animal  or  plant,  or  as  man  him- 
self." ^  Whatever  progress  has  been  made  by  mankind  in 
its  long  career  has  been  made  through  its  social  organiza- 
tions. There  is  no  civilization  and  there  is  no  liberty  out- 
side of  organized  society,  and  in  this  sense  the  individual 
man  is  the  child  and  creature  of  the  state  and  tied  to  it 
with  every  fiber  of  his  existence.^ 

*  Lester  F.  Ward,  "Pure  Sociology,"  New  York,  1903,  p.  549. 

'  "There  never  was  and  there  never  can  be  any  Hberty  upon  this 
earth  among  human  beings  outside  of  state  organization.  .  .  .  Liberty 
is  as  truly  a  creation  of  the  state  as  is  government."  — •  Professor 
J.  W.  BurgesSj  "Political  Science  and  Constitutional  Law,"  Boston, 
1890,  p.  88. 


22       THE  SOCIALIST  PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 

The  historical  and  uniform  course  of  the  evolution  of 
the  state  and  its  overwhelming  importance  as  a  factor  in 
human  civilization  have  led  the  school  of  thinkers  of  which 
Auguste  Comte,  Saint-Simon  and  Hegel  are  the  typical 
representatives,  to  the  opposite  extreme — the  conception  of 
the  state  as  an  organism.  The  "historical"  or  "organic" 
school  sees  in  the  abstract  phenomenon  of  the  state  a 
concrete  and  independent  being  with  a  life,  interests  and 
natural  history  of  its  own.  To  these  thinkers  human  so- 
ciety is  a  social  organism  very  much  like  the  biological 
organism.  The  social  institutions  are  so  many  of  its 
organs  performing  certain  vital  functions  required  for  the 
life  and  w^ell-being  of  the  organism  itself,  while  the  indi- 
vidual members  of  society  are  but  its  cells.  Mr.  M.  J. 
Novicov,*  probably  the  most  ingenious  exponent  of  the 
"organic"  school  of  sociology,  carries  the  parallelism  be- 
tween the  social  organism  and  the  biological  organism 
to  the  point  of  practical  identity,  and  Mr.  Benjamin  Kidd, 
criticising  the  utilitarian  motto,  "The  greatest  happiness 
of  the  greatest  number,"  says:  "The  greatest  good  which 
the  evolutionary  forces  operating  in  society  are  working 
out,  is  the  good  of  the  social  organism  as  a  whole.  The 
greatest  number  in  this  sense  is  comprised  of  the  members 
of  generations  yet  unborn  or  unthought  of,  to  whose  in- 
terests the  existing  individuals  are  absolutely  indifferent. 
And,  in  the  process  of  social  evolution  which  the  race  is 
undergoing,  it  is  these  latter  interests  which  are  always 
in  the  ascendant."  ^ 

In  short,  the  state  is  the  end,  the  citizen  is  only  the 

*  "Conscience  et  Volonte  Sociales,"  Paris,  1897;  "La  Thferie  Or- 
ganique  des  Societes,"  in  Annales  de  L'Institut  International  de  Sociolo' 
gie,  Vol.  V.  '  "Social  Evolution,"  p.  312. 


SOCIALISM   AND   INDIVIDUALISM  23 

means.  It  is  the  old  parable  of  the  shrewd  Miicius  Sce- 
vola  presenting  itself  before  us  in  the  fashionable  garb 
of  modern  science. 

And  here  again  the  two  extremes  meet.  The  extreme 
individualist  deprecates  all  attempts  on  the  part  of  the 
state  to  regulate  the  affairs  of  the  citizens,  on  the  plea  that 
the  state  should  not  interfere  with  the  liberty  of  the  in- 
dividual; the  extreme  sociocrat  discountenances  all  at- 
tempts on  the  part  of  the  citizens  to  model  the  state  in  their 
interests,  on  the  ground  that  the  individual  cannot  shape 
the  life  of  the  social  organism.  One  bases  his  objections 
on  the  ground  of  expediency,  the  other  on  scientific  neces- 
sity ;  but  the  practical  results  are  the  same  in  both  cases  — 
the  separation  of  the  state  and  the  individual. 

Although  the  ultra  "organic"  theory  of  the  state  has 
found  some  adherents  among  socialist  writers,^  contem- 
porary socialism  has,  on  the  whole,  as  little  sympathy  with 
the  extreme  sociocratic  view  as  it  has  with  that  of  the 
extreme  individualist. 

It  is  always  dangerous  to  engraft  a  ready-made  principle 
of  any  branch  of  scientific  research  on  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent branch,  notwithstanding  apparent  analogies  between 
the  two,  and  the  fallacy  of  that  method  is  probably  best 
illustrated  by  the  introduction  of  purely  biological  laws 
into  the  domain  of  sociology.  The  social  organization  of 
men  is  a  phenomenon  vastly  different  from  the  biological 
organism.  In  the  case  of  the  latter  it  is  the  organism  as 
such  which  is  endowed  with  sensation,  reflection  and  life 
—  the  individual  cell  has  no  conscious  life  of  its  own,  and 
serves  only  to  support  the  existence  of  the  organism.     In 

'  For  example,  the  well-known  Marxian  scholar,  F.  v.  d.  Goes,  in 
"Organische  Ontwikkeling  der  Maatschappij,"  Amsterdam,  1894. 


24       THE  SOCIALIST  PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 

the  case  of  the  "social  organism,"  on  the  other  hand,  it 
is  the  individual  members  of  it  who  are  endowed  with 
conscious  life,  and  it  is  the  so-called  organism  that  serves 
to  support  their  individual  existences. 

The  state  is  not  the  voluntary  and  arbitrary  creation  of 
man,  but  it  is  just  as  little  a  factor  imposed  on  man  by 
some  power  outside  of  him.  The  state  is  a  product  of 
logical  historical  development,  but  that  only  as  an  accom- 
paniment of  the  logical  historical  development  of  man. 
The  individual  cannot  dissociate  himself  from  society, 
nor  can  society  have  any  existence  outside  of  the  individuals 
composing  it.  The  state  represents  the  collective  mind 
and  attainments  of  all  past  generations,  but  also  the  col- 
lective intellect,  will  and  powers  of  its  present  living, 
feeling  and  thinking  members.  The  state  has  the 
power  to  regulate  the  conduct  of  its  individual  citizens,  but 
its  citizens  have  the  power  to  determine  the  scope  and 
nature  of  such  regulations,  and  the  higher  mankind 
ascends  in  the  scale  of  intellectual  development,  the  more 
effective  is  its  direction  of  the  functions  of  the  state.  ISIan 
to-day  is  in  a  position  to  employ  the  state  not  merely  for 
the  good  of  the  abstract  "social  organism  as  a  whole," 
nor  yet  merely  for  the  good  of  remote  generations  to  come, 
but  for  his  own  present  concrete  good. 

This  is  the  view  from  which  all  socialist  political  ac- 
tivity proceeds,  and  this  view  is  steadily  gaining  practical 
recognition  in  all  spheres  of  society,  as  is  eloquently  attested 
by  the  ever  greater  extensions  of  the  social  functions  of  the 
modern  state. 

Individualism  in  Industry 

If  the  tendency  of  political  development  of  mankind 
has,  on  the  whole,  been  in  the  direction  of  socialization. 


SOCIALISM  AND  INDIVIDUALISM  25 

the  same  tendency  asserts  itself  even  more  strongly  in  the 
process  of  industrial  development. 

Individualism  in  production  is  a  mark  of  economic 
immaturity. 

The  primitive  man,  without  experience,  tools,  weapons 
or  arts,  living  in  trees  or  in  caves,  and  subsisting  on  the 
wild  fruit  of  the  tropical  forest,  may  to  a  large  extent  be 
economically  independent  of  his  fellow-man  in  the  neigh- 
boring tree.  But  the  succeeding  fishing,  hunting,  agri- 
cultural and  pastoral  occupations  already  presuppose  the 
existence  of  certain  uniform  tools,  a  certain  common  ex- 
perience, common  methods  of  work,  and  even  the  possi- 
bility of  occasional  exchanges  of  products. 

But  these  early  institutions  are,  on  the  whole,  too  un- 
certain and  unexplored  to  enable  us  to  build  any  sober 
conclusions  upon  them.  To  ascertain  the  real  tendency  of 
industrial  development,  we  must  take  a  more  recent  and 
better-known  period,  —  a  period,  besides,  which  has  uncov- 
ered the  laws  of  industrial  evolution  more  clearly  than  the 
entire  history  before  it, — the  period  of  the  last  century.  And 
if  there  is  any  doubt  in  our  minds  as  to  the  tendency  of 
our  industrial  life,  the  examination  of  this  period  will 
rapidly  dispel  it. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  produc- 
tion and  distribution  of  goods  was  in  the  main  operated 
on  an  individualist  basis.  The  artisan  worked  as  an  indi- 
vidual either  at  his  home  or  in  his  shop,  generally  alone  and 
sometimes  with  the  aid  of  a  helper  or  apprentice.  His 
simple  tool  was  owned  and  operated  by  him  individually. 
His  product  was  in  most  cases  due  entirely  to  his  indi- 
vidual labor  and  skill,  and  was  rightly  and  properly  his 
individual  possession. 


26       THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

But  with  the  development  of  the  simple  tool  into  a 
variety  of  huge,  steam-propelled  machines,  specializer"  fc 
the  mass  production  of  minute  parts  of  commodities,  Ine 
little  workshop  grew  into  the  enormous  modern  factory 
in  which  hundreds  and  thousands  of  men  are  brought 
together  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  organized  into  a 
complex  hierarchy  of  labor,  each  one  doing  one  small 
tiling,  each  working  into  the  hands  of  the  other,  all  of  them 
collectively  producing  one  article  which  may  have  to  go 
through  numerous  similar  operations  in  other  immense 
and  complex  factories  before  it  turns  into  a  commodity 
for  direct  consumption.  The  modern  machine  is  a  social 
tool,  the  modern  factory  is  a  social  workshop,  the  modern 
workingman  is  a  social  servant,  and  the  modern  goods  are 
social  products. 

Let  us  take  the  most  simple  articles  of  use :  the  coat  we 
wear,  the  chair  we  sit  on,  the  bed  we  sleep  in,  and  ask  our- 
selves. Who  produced  these  articles?  To  answer  that 
question  we  shall  have  to  consider  the  unknown  thousands 
who  contributed  to  the  work  of  their  immediate  design 
and  manufacture,  to  the  production  and  transportation  of 
the  material  contained  in  them,  to  the  work  of  constructing 
the  wonderful  machinery  employed  at  the  countless  steps 
of  the  process,  and  to  the  work  of  operating  the  machinery 
of  transportation,  etc.  In  modern  production  the  indi- 
vidual laborer  is  practically  obliterated ;  what  is  before  us 
is  a  world-wide  community  of  socially  organized  labor  of 
all  gradations,  from  the  highest  and  most  skillful  to  the 
lowest  and  most  common,  working  together  collectively 
for  the  needs  of  our  race. 

And  it  is  this  collective  labor  of  our  times  that  sustains 
modern  comforts  and  modern  civilization.     Were  it  pos- 


SOCIALISM   AND   INDIVIDUALISM  2/ 

sible  for  us  to  return  to  the  regime  of  absolute  individ- 
ualism in  production,  to  prepare  our  own  food,  make  our 
own  clothing,  build  our  own  dwellings,  without  taking 
advantage  of  the  material  prepared  by  others,  without 
accepting  the  cooperation  of  our  fellow-men,  we  should 
relapse  into  a  state  of  savagery  in  less  than  a  generation. 

While  the  feature  of  individualism  has  been  almost 
eliminated  from  the  field  of  production  by  the  last  century, 
it  has,  during  that  period,  shown  much  greater  vitality  in 
the  sphere  of  management  of  our  industries. 

The  management  of  our  industries  by  individual  capi- 
talists for  their  own  private  benefit  and  in  rivalry  with 
each  other  —  industrial  competition  —  has  for  decades 
been  the  favorite  topic  of  controversy  between  the  ad- 
herents of  the  individualist  philosophy  and  the  partisans 
of  the  socialist  school  of  political  economy.  To  the 
sturdy  individualist  the  competitive  system  of  industry  is 
the  source  of  all  blessings  of  civilization :  he  never  tires  of 
extolling  the  merits  of  that  system  as  an  incentive  to  in- 
dustrial enterprise,  inventiveness  and  efficiency,  as  a  char- 
acter builder  and  lever  of  all  social  and  individual  progress. 
The  socialist,  on  the  other  hand,  points  a  warning  finger 
to  the  evils  of  competition :  the  anarchy  in  management 
and  waste  in  production  which  the  system  entails,  and  the 
tremendous  social,  economic  and  ethical  losses  which  it 
imposes  on  the  producers,  the  consumers  and  the  com- 
munity at  large.^ 

But  while  the  discussion  on  the  merits  and  demerits  of 
competition  is  assuming  ever  more  intense  forms,  the  mute 

*  A  most  notable  contribution  to  that  phase  of  the  discussion  is  the 
recent  work  of  Mr.  Sidney  A.  Reeve,  "The  Cost  of  Competition," 
McClure,  Phillips  &  Co.,  1906. 


28       THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

forces  of  economic  evolution,  unconcerned  by  theories  and 
abstractions,  are  rapidly  working  towards  a  practical 
solution  of  the  problem.  The  individual  capitalist  stead- 
ily yields  his  place  in  the  industrial  world  to  the  corpora- 
tion and  the  trust,  and  the  latter  combine  and  consolidate 
the  independent  managements  of  numerous  individual 
concerns  under  one  corporate  direction,  and  reorganize 
the  management  of  industries,  frequently  on  a  national  and 
even  international  scale.  The  irresistible  growth  of  trusts 
and  monopolies  is  the  central  fact  of  all  recent  economic 
development,  and  it  sounds  the  death  knell  of  individual 
competition. 

The  only  sphere  of  our  industrial  life  in  which  the  prin- 
ciple of  individualism  has  survived  in  all  its  pristine  vigor, 
is  that  of  the  appropriation  or  distribution  of  the  products. 

Although  the  instruments  of  production  have  become 
social  in  their  character  and  use,  and  indispensable  to  the 
entire  working  community,  they  are  still  owned  and  con- 
trolled by  the  individual  capitalists.  Although  the  pro- 
duction of  goods  is  a  collective  process,  and  its  management 
and  direction  are  fast  becoming  so,  it  is  still  conducted 
principally  for  the  benefit  of  the  individual  captains  of 
industry.  Although  all  useful  members  of  the  community 
collectively  contribute  to  the  so-called  national  wealth, 
only  a  comparatively  small  number  of  individuals  share 
in  it.  In  short,  although  the  production  of  wealth  is  prac- 
tically socialistic,  its  distribution  is  entirely  individualistic. 

And  this  contradiction  between  the  modern  methods 
of  production  and  distribution  is  the  only  real  issue  be- 
tween the  individualist  and  the  socialist  in  the  domain  of 
economic  discussion. 

The  beneficiaries  of  the  present  system  of  wealth  dis- 


SOCIALISM   AND   INDIVIDUALISM  29 

tribution  have  a  very  obvious  material  interest  in  main- 
taining it,  and  there  never  was  a  ruling  class  that  did  not 
have  the  abundant  support  of  scientific  and  ethical  theories 
to  justify  it  in  the  continued  enjoyment  of  its  privileges. 
In  the  present  case  this  function  is  being  performed  by 
the  school  of  "  individualistic"  philosophers  and  moralizers. 

The  socialists,  on  the  other  hand,  consider  the  present 
system  of  individual  appropriation  of  social  wealth  as 
an  anachronism,  a  survival  of  a  past  economic  order,  and 
a  disturbing  factor  in  the  process  of  social,  economic  and 
ethical  progress. 

The  main  object  of  socialism  is  to  adjust  the  principles 
of  wealth  distribution  to  those  of  production  —  to  make 
the  one  as  social  and  general  in  function  and  effect  as  the 
other  already  is. 

The  Individual  under  Socialism 

The  commonest  of  all  objections  to  the  socialist  ideal 
is  that  a  state  of  socialism  would  endanger  individual 
liberty.  From  such  unimaginative  novelists  as  Eugen 
Richter  ^  and  David  M.  Parry ,^  whose  conceptions  of  the 
socialist  commonwealth  are  those  of  the  modern  factory 
regulations  extended  to  the  scope  of  a  national  order,  up 
to  the  thinker  of  the  keenness  of  mind  and  universality 
of  knowledge  of  Herbert  Spencer  who  asserts  that  "all 
socialism  implies  slavery,"  ^  all  bourgeois  philosophers 
seem  to  take  it  for  granted  that  mankind  is  to-day  enjoy- 
ing a  large  measure  of  individual  freedom  and  that  social- 
ism would  greatly  curtail  if  not  entirely  suppress  it. 

'  "  Sozialdemokratische  Zukunftsbilder." 

^  "The  Scarlet  Empire,"  Indianapolis,  1906. 

3  "The  Coming  Slavery." 


30       THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 

The  socialists  deny  both  assertions  with  equal  emphasis. 

Under  our  present  system  of  economic  dependence  and 
struggles,  individual  liberty  is  but  a  fiction.  The  very 
small  "leisure  class,"  i.e.,  the  class  of  persons  enjoying 
a  workless  and  ample  income  and  entirely  removed  from 
active  participation  in  the  industrial,  professional,  com- 
mercial and  financial  strife,  no  doubt  enjoy  considerable 
individual  liberty,  but  for  all  other  strata  of  modern  society 
that  liberty  does  not  exist. 

The  v\^orkingmen,  the  largest  class  of  the  population, 
are  anything  but  free:  their  work  and  their  pleasures, 
their  dress  and  their  dwellings,  their  mode  of  life  and  their 
habits,  are  forced  on  them  by  their  economic  condition. 

"Not  as  an  exception,  but  universally,"  says  Mr.  H.  D. 
Lloyd, ^  "labor  is  doing  what  it  does  not  want  to  do,  and 
not  getting  what  it  wants  or  needs.  Laborers  want  to 
work  eight  hours  a  day;  they  must  work  ten,  fourteen, 
eighteen.  .  .  .  They  want  to  send  their  children  to  school ; 
they  must  send  them  to  the  factory.  They  want  their 
wives  to  keep  house  for  them;  but  they  too  must  throw 
some  shuttle  or  guide  some  wheel.  They  must  work 
when  they  are  sick;  they  must  stop  work  at  another's 
will ;  they  must  work  life  out  to  keep  life  in.  The  people 
have  to  ask  for  work,  and  then  do  not  get  it.  They  have 
to  take  less  than  a  fair  share  of  the  product ;  they  have  to 
risk  life,  limb  or  health  —  their  own,  their  wives',  their 
children's  —  for  others'  selfishness  or  whim." 

Nor  is  the  workingman  alone  deprived  of  individual 
liberty  under  present  conditions.  The  toiling  farmer  bur- 
dened by  mortgages  and  oppressed  by  the  railroad  com- 

*  Quoted  in  Richard  T.  Ely's  "Socialism  and  Social  Reform,"  pp. 
209,  210. 


SOCIALISM   AND   INDIVIDUALISM  3 1 

panics,  the  professional  man  dependent  on  private  and 
unregulated  calls  for  his  services,  and  the  small  business 
man  struggling  against  odds  to  maintain  his  "independ- 
ence," they  are  all  tied  to  a  routine  of  life  and  action  not 
voluntarily  chosen,  but  inexorably  imposed  on  them  by 
the  economic  exigencies  of  their  business  pursuits  and 
callings. 

And  even  the  "povi^erful"  and  v^^ealthy,  the  heads  of 
the  modern  industrial  structure,  are  anything  but  free: 
their  v^ealth  as  live,  active,  investment-seeking  capital, 
dominates  them  and  suppresses  their  individual  volition ; 
they  are  the  slaves  of  their  wealth  rather  than  its  masters. 

All  these  purely  economic  checks  on  individual  liberty 
must  of  necessity  be  greatly  palliated,  if  not  entirely  re- 
moved, in  a  socialist  community,  for  the  system  of  socialism 
implies  primarily  a  state  of  greater  economic  security  and 
industrial  equality. 

"But,"  it  is  asked,  "assuming  that  socialism  v^ould 
remove  some  of  the  elements  operating  to-day  against  the 
full  exercise  of  the  freedom  of  the  individual,  would  it  not 
create  new  and  more  formidable  restraints  upon  liberty? 
Under  the  present  regime  the  individual  has  some  say  in 
the  choice  of  his  occupation  and  the  mode  of  exercising 
his  trade  or  calling;  under  socialism,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  state  would  be  the  sole  employer,  and  would  determine 
for  every  citizen  what,  where  and  how  he  should  work; 
would  not  the  citizen  thus  become  the  slave  of  the 
state?" 

This  argument,  so  frequently  urged  against  socialism, 
contains  two  fundamental  errors:  it  assumes  that  a  so- 
cialist state  may  be  a  power  independent  of  and  opposed 
to  the  body  of  individuals  composing  it,  and  that  in  a  sys- 


32        THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

tern  of  socialism,  all  industries  must  be  concentrated  in 
and  controlled  by  the  national  government  or  "  state." 

The  basic  principle  of  every  socialist  community  must 
be  its  democratic  administration :  the  socialist  state  will 
assume  such  concrete  form,  powers  and  functions  as  the 
majority  of  citizens,  unbiased  by  conflicting  class  interests, 
will  freely  choose  to  confer  on  it,  and  it  is  not  at  all  reason- 
able to  suppose  that  these  citizens  will  deliberately  encase 
themselves  in  an  iron  cage  of  rigid  laws  and  rules  of  their 
own  making. 

Much  more  likely  the  men  who  will  have  the  framing  of 
the  political  and  industrial  system  of  a  socialist  common- 
wealth, will  take  ample  care  of  their  own  individual  free- 
dom. 

Nor  is  there  any  reason  to  suppose  that  under  socialism 
"the  state"  would  be  the  sole  employer.  Socialism  im- 
plies the  collective  ownership  of  the  social  tools  of  produc- 
tion, and  the  collective  management  of  industries  based 
upon  the  use  of  social  tools.  Does  that  necessarily 
imply  state  ownership  and  management?  By  no  means. 
Certain  industries  are  even  to-day  organized  on  a  national 
scale,  and  may  be  best  managed  or  controlled  as  state 
functions;  others  come  more  appropriately  within  the 
scope  of  the  municipal  administration,  others  still  may  be 
most  efficiently  managed  by  voluntary  cooperative  asso- 
ciations with  or  without  state  control,  while  a  variety  of 
industries  of  an  individual  nature,  such  as  the  various 
arts  and  crafts,  must  of  necessity  remain  purely  individual 
pursuits.  The  phantom  of  the  "despotic  state"  has  taken 
such  a  strong  hold  of  the  minds  of  our  social  philosophers 
trained  in  the  individualistic  school  of  thought,  that  even 
writers  like  Professor  Richard  T.  Ely,  of  whose  candor 


SOCIALISM   AND   INDIVIDUALISM  33 

and  analytical  powers  there  can  be  no  doubt,  and  who  is  by 
no  means  unsympathetic  to  socialism,  is  not  quite  free  from 
the  fear  of  it.  "Even,"  says  Professor  Ely,  "if  the  func- 
tions of  government  should  be  reduced  to  the  lowest  forms 
compatible  with  socialism,  those  in  whose  hands  were 
centered  political  and  economic  control  would  have  tre- 
mendous power,  however  they  might  be  selected  or  ap- 
pointed. Nor  can  we  forget  the  possibilities  of  combina- 
tions between  different  parties  for  certain  purposes.  It 
would,  under  socialism,  be  quite  possible  for  two  or  three 
parties  to  act  together  as  sometimes  they  do  now.  The 
frequent  assertion  that  the  Democratic  and  Republican 
parties  have  acted  together  in  New  York  City  to  control 
the  civil  service,  seems  to  be  well  founded ;  and  it  is  quite 
conceivable  that  two  or  three  parties  might  act  together 
to  promote  the  interests  favorable  to  a  few  leaders,  and  to 
keep  down,  if  not  persecute,  obnoxious  persons."  ^ 

In  voicing  these  apprehensions  Professor  Ely  uncon- 
sciously transfers  present  conditions  into  an  order  of  things 
in  which  the  very  causes  of  such  conditions  are  altogether 
lacking.  Political  parties  are  the  creatures  and  tools  of 
class  interests,  and  "the  interests  favorable  to  a  few 
leaders"  which  he  mentions,  are  the  economic  interests  of 
the  class  or  group  of  men  represented  in  politics  by  those 
leaders.  Modern  party  politics  is,  as  we  shall  attempt 
to  show  in  a  later  chapter,  a  manifestation  of  the  capital- 
ist mode  of  production  and  of  the  economic  struggle  of  the 
classes,  and  must  disappear  with  the  abolition  of  the  present 
economic  order. 

Under  socialism  there  can  be  no  party  politics,  in  the 
present  sense,  and  whatever  abuses  may  develop  in  the 

'  Richard  T.  Ely,  "Socialism  and  Social  Reform,"  pp.  212,  213. 
D 


34       THE  SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

administration  of  the  state  or  the  industries,  can  be  only 
casual,  based  on  inexperience  or  error  of  judgment  of  the 
community  or  on  personal  incompetence,  malice  or  am- 
bition of  the  responsible  officers,  and  in  either  case  they 
can  be  more  readily  remedied  than  in  a  state  in  which  such 
abuses  have  their  roots  in  the  very  foundation  of  the  in- 
dustrial organization  of  society. 

On  a  par  with  the  assertion  that  socialism  would  be  fatal 
to  individual  liberty  is  the  kindred  claim  that  socialism 
would  destroy  the  individuality  of  man.  The  "dead  level 
of  intellectual  equality  and  homogeneity"  under  socialism 
is  a  specter  almost  as  terrifying  to  the  good  "individualist" 
as  the  phantom  of  socialist  slavery.  And  it  is  fully  as 
unreal.  For  if  any  industrial  system  tends  to  destroy 
the  individuality  of  men,  it  is  not  the  proposed  system  of 
socialism,  but  our  present  economic  order.  The  aggre- 
gation of  millions  of  workingmen  in  the  modern  industrial 
centers,  employed  under  similar  conditions,  tied  everlast- 
ingly to  the  same  monotonous  machine  work,  dwelling  in 
the  same  uniform  tenements  and  leading  the  same  stereo- 
typed bleak  existence,  tends  to  turn  them  into  one  undis- 
tinguishable,  homogeneous  mass,  dressing,  talking,  looking 
and  thinking  substantially  alike.  The  men  of  our  active 
upper  classes,  all  engaged  in  the  same  all-absorbing  pursuit 
of  wealth  by  the  same  methods  and  under  the  same  con- 
ditions, and  our  leisure  classes  sorely  tried  by  the  rigid  rules 
of  conventional  etiquette,  and  tied  to  a  blase  life  of  uniform 
and  tiring  social  functions,  fashionable  sports  and  pre- 
scribed recreations,  develop  a  different  but  not  less  homo- 
geneous nor  more  attractive  type.  This  natural  uniform- 
ity of  type  within  the  different  social  classes  is  accompanied 
by  a  sort  of  artificial  uniformity  produced  by  the  present 


SOCIALISM   AND   INDIVIDUALISM  35 

economic  conditions  operating  in  a  more  indirect  manner. 
"  One  has  only  to  look  on  whilst  the  sons  of  the  nouveaux 
riches  spend  their  money,"  remarks  Mr.  Macdonald,  "or 
whilst  the  crowds  which  our  industrial  quarters  have  dis- 
gorged enjoy  themselves,  to  appreciate  the  meaningless 
monotony  of  our  pleasure.  From  our  furniture,  made  by 
the  thousand  pieces  by  machine,  to  our  religion,  stereo- 
typed in  set  formulas  and  pursued  by  clockwork  methods, 
individuality  is  an  exceptional  characteristic."  ^ 

"Our  standard  of  decency  in  expenditure,"  observes 
Professor  Veblen,  "as  in  other  ends  of  emulation,  is  set  by 
the  usage  of  those  next  above  us  in  reputability;  until,  in 
this  way,  especially  in  any  community  where  class  distinc- 
tions are  somewhat  vague,  all  canons  of  respectability  and 
decency,  and  all  standards  of  consumption,  are  traced 
back  by  insensible  gradations  to  the  usages  and  habits 
of  thought  of  the  highest  social  and  pecuniary  class  —  the 
wealthy  leisure  class."  ^ 

And  Mr.  Vail  expresses  the  same  idea  when  he  says: 
"The  tendency  toward  uniformity  is  due  to  the  lack  of 
equality  in  economic  conditions.  The  inferior  classes 
strive  to  imitate  the  superior  classes  in  order  to  avoid  an 
apparent  social  inferiority.  The  result  is,  society  is  con- 
tinually run  in  the  same  groove.  On  the  other  hand,  any 
system  which  would  tend  to  decrease  economic  inequality 
would  tend  to  kill  imitation.  Just  in  proportion  as  men 
become  equal,  they  cease  to  gain  by  imitating  each  other. 
It  is  always  among  equals  that  we  find  true  independence."^ 

'  J.  Ramsay  Macdonald,  "Socialism  and  Society,"  London,  1905, 
p.  7. 

2  Thorstein  Veblen,  "The  Theory  of  the  Leisure  Class,"  New  York, 
1905,  p.  104. 

^  Charles  H.  Vail,  "Principles  of  Scientific  Socialism,"  p.  227. 


CHAPTER   III 

SOCIALISM   AND   ETHICS 

The  Essence  and  Scope  of  Ethics 

The  branch  of  social  philosophy  known  as  Ethics  pre- 
sents itself  to  us  in  a  dual  aspect.  Theoretical  or  scien- 
tific ethics  aims  to  ascertain  the  principles  and  true  mean- 
ing of  "right  and  wrong"  in  human  conduct.  Practical 
or  applied  ethics  seeks  to  draw  concrete  conclusions  from 
the  knowledge  so  gained,  and  to  base  on  it  a  code  of "  right  " 
conduct  for  the  practical  guidance  of  mankind.  Scien- 
tific ethics  takes  cognizance  of  actions  and  relations  as  they 
are,  while  practical  ethics  considers  them  as  they  ought  to 
be.  And  it  is  largely  on  account  of  this  dual  character 
of  ethics  that  the  standard  definitions  of  the  term  present 
such  a  striking  divergence.  Some  of  the  writers  on  the 
subject  have  attempted  to  cover  both  aspects  of  ethics 
in  one  definition,  while  others  either  give  separate  defini- 
tions for  each,  or  emphasize  only  one  side,  entirely  ignoring 
the  other. ^ 

But  whether  ethics  be  considered  as  a  science  or  as  an 

*  The  following  are  among  the  better-known  definitions  of  ethics, 
both  as  a  science  and  an  art :  — 

Professor  John  Dewey  in  the  Encyclopedia  Americana:  "Ethics  is  that 
branch  of  human  conduct  which  is  concerned  with  the  formation  and  use 
of  judgments  of  right  and  wrong,  and  with  the  intellectual,  emotional, 
and  executive  or  overt  phenomena  which  are  associated  with  such  judg- 
ments, either  as  antecedents  or  consequents." 

Francis  L.  Patton  in  Syllabus  of  Ethics:  "Ethics  is  the  science  that 
offers  a  rational  explanation  of  Right ness  and  Oughtness;  and  that  deals 

36 


SOCIALISM   AND    ETHICS  3/ 

art,  all  authorities  agree  that  in  either  case  it  is  concerned 
with  "right"  or  "good"  human  conduct.  That  is,  how- 
ever, as  far  as  the  agreement  goes.  The  more  fundamental 
problems  of  the  kind  of  human  conduct  properly  coming 
within  the  sphere  of  ethics,  and  of  the  adoption  of  a  uni- 
versally valid  standard  of  "right  and  wrong"  or  "good 
and  bad"  in  such  conduct,  is  still  the  subject  of  much 
discussion. 

It  is  pretty  generally  agreed  that  the  conduct  of  which 
ethics  takes  cognizance  is  not  the  conduct  of  associated 
human  beings  acting  as  such  (for  that  properly  belongs  to 

with  the  Life  of  free  personal  beings  under  these  conceptions,  considering 
it  as  related  to  an  Ideal  or  norm  of  Excellence,  conformity  to  which  is 
obligatory." 

Harald  Hoffding  in  Ethik:  "A  scientific  system  of  Ethics  endeavors 
to  discover  in  accordance  with  what  principles  we  direct  our  life,  and  to 
secure  for  these,  when  ascertained,  greater  clearness  and  inner  harmony." 

Ethics  is  considered  as  a  critical  science  only,  in  the  following  defini- 
tions: — 

Herbert  Spencer  in  Data  of  Ethics:  "Morality  is  the  science  of  right 
conduct,  and  has  for  its  object  to  determine  how  and  why  certain  modes 
of  conduct  are  detrimental,  and  certain  other  modes  beneficial." 

New  International  Encyclopedia:  "Ethics  is  the  voluntary  conduct  of 
a  self-conscious  person,  in  so  far  as  that  action  is  amenable  to  a  standard 
of  obligation  imposed  on  him  by  social  influence  or  by  a  supreme  plan  of 
life  that  draws  its  material  from  society." 

The  following  definitions  deal  with  ethics  as  a  constructive  art:- — • 

Henry  Sidgwick  in  The  Methods  of  Ethics:  "By  'methods  of  ethics' 
is  meant  any  rational  procedure  by  which  we  determine  what  individual 
human  beings  '  ought '  or  what  it  is  '  right '  for  them  to  do,  or  to  seek  to 
realize  by  voluntary  action." 

Jeremy  Benthain:  "Ethics  is  the  art  of  directing  men's  action  to  the 
production  of  the  greatest  possible  quantity  of  happiness." 

American  Encyclopedia:  "Ethics  is  the  principle  which  prescribes 
what  ought  to  take  place  in  human  conduct." 

Webster's  Dictionary :  "Ethics  is  a  system  of  rules  for  regulating  the 
actions  and  manners  of  men  in  society." 


38        THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

the  domain  of  politics),  but  the  conduct  of  the  individual. 
At  the  same  time,  however,  it  is  not  all  individual  human 
conduct  that  falls  within  the  sphere  of  ethics.  "  Conduct" 
has  been  aptly  defined  by  Herbert  Spencer  as  "acts  ad- 
justed to  ends,"  ^  and  it  is  very  obvious  that  within  the 
scope  of  his  biological  functions  and  even  in  his  intellectual 
life  and  social  relations  man  performs  daily  numerous  acts 
fully  adjusted  to  ends  which  have  no  ethical  implications. 
To  be  ethical  or  unethical,  human  actions  must  have  some 
bearing  on  beings  other  than  the  actor  himself;  they  must 
be  tested  by  their  social  effects.  A  number  of  authorities 
extend  the  operation  of  ethics  to  conduct  towards  one's 
self  and  one's  fellow-men;  philosophers  of  the  theological 
school  include  conduct  towards  God  within  the  purview 
of  ethics,  while  the  thinkers  of  the  evolutionary  biological 
school,  with  Spencer  at  the  head,  classify  ethical  conduct 
as  conduct  towards  self,  offspring  and  race.  But  on  closer 
examination,  it  will  be  found  that  the  addition  of  all  factors 
other  than  the  purely  social  factor,  is  meaningless  or  con- 
fusing. Ethics  remains  indifferent  to  the  conduct  of  the 
individual  towards  himself,  so  long  as  that  conduct  does 
not  directly  or  indirectly  affect  the  well-being  of  his  fellow- 
men  or  of  the  human  race.  When  an  individual  wastes 
his  physical  or  mental  resources  in  a  manner  calculated 
to  cripple  his  own  life  without,  however,  involving  the  well- 
being  of  other  individuals,  we  call  his  conduct  improvident 
or  unwise,  and  only  when  he  abuses  his  own  body  in  a 
manner  likely  to  injure  his  offspring  or  to  enfeeble  or 
degenerate  the  race,  do  we  call  him  immoral.  Similarly, 
we  consider  an  individual  immoral  if  he  is  in  the  habit  of 
transgressing  those  religious  precepts  which  happen  to  be 

*  "Data  of  Ethics,"  New  York,  1893,  p.  5. 


SOCIALISM   AND   ETHICS  39 

in  accord  with  the  generally  accepted  secular  notions  of 
"right"  or  "good"  in  social  conduct,  but  if  he  neglects 
to  comply  with  certain  prescribed  religious  observances 
which  have  no  bearing  on  the  well-being  of  his  fellow-men, 
we  merely  call  him  irreligious.  And  finally  the  conduct 
of  the  indi^'idual  towards  his  offspring  is  no  more  than  a 
special  phase  of  his  conduct  towards  his  fellow-men  or 
his  race. 

Without  fear  of  serious  contradiction  we  may,  therefore, 
define  ethics  as  the  science  or  art  of  "right"  individual 
conduct  of  men  towards  their  fellow-men. 

A  much  greater  uncertainty  and  divergence  of  views  con- 
front us  when  we  attempt  to  discover  the  meaning  of  the 
term  "right"  as  applied  to  human  conduct  in  the  various 
philosophical  systems  of  ethics.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
there  is  no  code  of  morality  universally  recognized  and 
conformed  to  by  all  mankind  at  all  times.  Human 
actions  which  are  condemned  as  atrocious  by  some 
races  under  some  circumstances,  are  sanctioned  and  even 
praised  by  other  races  and  under  other  circumstances. 
Under  normal  conditions  civilized  men  consider  the  act 
of  deliberate  murder  as  the  most  revolting  and  heinous  of 
crimes,  but  in  war  the  same  act  is  glorified  by  them  as  one 
of  greatest  virtue,  while  among  the  food-lacking  tribes  of 
cannibals,  it  is  considered  as  an  indifferent  act  of  common- 
place household  economy.  Other  offenses  against  the 
person,  and  still  more  so  offenses  against  property,  have 
received  even  more  varying  estimates  at  different  periods 
of  human  history  and  from  dift'erent  portions  of  the  human 
race,  while  the  astounding  changes  of  the  social  standards 
of  sex  morality  with  time  and  place,  are  familiar  to  every 
student  of  sociology  and  reader  of  descriptive  travel. 


40        THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

And  still  the  fundamental  precepts  of  morality  arc 
by  no  means  an  arbitrary  figment  of  the  human  brain. 
For  the  epoch  and  place  in  which  they  prevail  they  have 
universal  validity,  and  even  their  modifications  from  time 
to  time  and  variations  from  place  to  place  will  always  be 
found  to  have  legitimate  reasons  and  realistic  roots  in  the 
conditions  of  such  times  and  places.  If  there  are  no 
absolute  standards  of  right  and  wrong,  there  certainly 
must  be  relative  standards  of  right  and  wrong  at  every 
given  time  and  place,  and  these  relative  standards,  further- 
more, must  have  some  common  principle  determining 
their  formation.  What  are  those  standards,  and  what  is 
that  principle?  These  are  the  main  questions  which 
exercised  the  minds  of  the  early  founders  of  the  science  of 
ethics  and  which  still  constitute  the  brunt  of  discussions 
of  the  modern  moral  philosophers.  And  it  is  largely 
the  difference  in  the  answers  to  these  questions  which 
separates  the  numerous  existing  ethical  systems  from  each 
other. 

The  theological  school  of  thinkers,  of  which  St.  Augus- 
tine, the  mediaeval  monk  Ambrose  and  especially  Thomas 
Aquinas  are  the  classical  exponents,  and  which  still  has 
numerous  and  vigorous  adherents,  assumes  that  there  is 
a  universal  and  supreme  standard  of  right  and  wrong. 
That  standard  is  the  divine  command  which  has  been 
given  to  all  mankind  and  is  expressed  in  the  holy  scriptures. 
In  particular  instances  that  command  is  to  be  ascertained 
by  revelation  or  by  interpretation  and  application  of  the 
general  rules  obtained  from  texts  of  scripture  and  by 
analogical  inferences  from  scriptural  examples.  Any 
departure  from  that  command  as  so  interpreted  by  in- 
dividuals or  whole  races  is  merely  evidence  of  apostasy. 


SOCIALISM  AND   ETHICS  4 1 

In   this   theory   ethics   is   practically     synonymous   with 
theology. 

Closely  cognate  with  the  theological  system  of  ethics, 
but  considerably  secularized,  is  the  doctrine  of  Natural 
Laws  first  developed  into  a  comprehensive  system  by 
Hugo  Grotius  and  followed  by  many  modern  writers, 
principally  in  England.  That  school,  like  the  theological 
school,  recognizes  an  absolute  and  universal  standard  of 
right  and  wrong  in  human  conduct,  but  in  distinction  to 
the  theological  school  it  bases  that  standard  not  on  a  divine 
command  but  on  "the  essential  nature  of  man."  Accord- 
ing to  Grotius  and  his  followers  there  are  implanted  in  the 
human  being  certain  notions  of  right  and  wrong  which 
form  a  part  of  his  very  existence  and  which  are  as  unalter- 
able and  true  as  the  truths  of  mathematics.  The  test  and 
the  proof  of  such  truths  is  their  universal  acceptance  by 
human  societies.  In  conformity  with  this  conception  the 
writers  of  that  school  have  evolved  a  code  of  ethics  based 
entirely  on  the  fundamental  notions  of  morality  prevailing 
among  the  civilized  nations  of  their  times. 

Barely  distinguishable  from  the  juridical  school  of 
Natural  Laws  is  the  philosophical  school  of  Intuitionalism. 
This  school,  which  may  claim  Socrates  and  Plato  for  its 
founders,  has  in  more  recent  times  had  many  brilliant  ex- 
ponents and  defenders  in  the  field  of  philosophic  thought, 
chief  among  them  being  Kant  and  Wliewell.  According 
to  the  intuitional  doctrine  the  sense  of  duty  is  innate  in 
every  normal  human  being  and  its  commands  and  prin- 
ciples are  known  to  them  by  intuition  and  without  the  aid 
of  any  process  of  reasoning  or  demonstration.  This  doc- 
trine is  developed  with  the  greatest  elaborateness  by  Kant, 
who  distinguishes  between  the  world  of  "phenomena," or 


42        THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

objects  as  they  appear  to  us  through  our  limited  senses  and 
powers  of  perception,  and  the  world  of  "noumena,"  the 
real  world  of  objects  as  they  exist  regardless  of  our  per- 
ception of  them  (Die  Dinge  an  sich).  The  sense  of  duty 
is  one  of  such  "noiimena."  It  manifests  itself  to  us  in  a 
greater  or  smaller  degree  according  to  the  development  of 
our  powers  of  perception,  but  it  has  an  absolute  and  real 
existence  outside  of  our  perceptions. 

To  all  these  systems  of  ethics  which  may  be  collectively 
designated  as  Idealistic,  are  opposed  the  so-called  Rational- 
istic systems,  which  seek  to  evolve  standards  of  right  and 
wrong  from  reason  and  experience  rather  than  from  reve- 
lation or  intuition. 

The  earliest  of  such  schools  is  the  Hedonistic  or  Epi- 
curean, which  considers  individual  happiness  as  the  end  of 
life  and  all  conduct  conducive  to  that  end  as  good  and 
right.  This  theory  is  not  grossly  materialistic,  since  it 
recognizes  the  intellectual  and  aesthetic  pleasures  as  the 
ones  conducive  to  greater  and  more  lasting  happiness. 
Like  the  school  of  Intuitionalism  the  school  of  Hedonism 
dates  back  to  Greek  antiquity.  The  philosophers  Aris- 
tippus  and  Epicurus  were  among  its  first  exponents. 
The  theory  was  revived  by  Hobbes  and  considerably 
modified  and  extended  by  him  and  his  followers.  The 
more  recent  writers  of  this  school  frequently  substitute  the 
more  definite  standard  of  pleasure  and  pain  for  the  old 
hedonistic  test  of  happiness  and  unhappiness,  and  several 
of  them  see  the  true  application  of  the  principle  of  hedonism 
not  in  the  happiness  of  the  individual,  but  in  universal  or 
social  happiness.  Hedonism  in  one  form  or  another  was 
the  favorite  doctrine  of  the  rationalistic  philosophers  of  pre- 
Revolutionary  France  —  Lamettrie,  Helvetius  and  others. 


SOCIALISM   AND   ETHICS  43 

The  notion  of  the  "social  contract,"  which  appeared 
together  with  the  victory  of  the  European  industrials  and 
the  establishment  of  constitutional  government,  logically 
led  to  the  formation  of  the  Utilitarian  school  of  ethics. 
The  adherents  of  the  "social  contract"  theory,  as  stated  in 
a  previous  chapter,  assume  that  organized  society  was 
formed  by  its  individual  members  for  their  mutual  benefit 
and  protection,  and  that  it  is  deliberately  maintained  by 
them  for  that  purpose.  Since,  however,  the  rules  or  acts  of 
organized  society  cannot  always  benefit  all  of  its  members 
alike,  each  individual  member  must  occasionally  sacri- 
fice some  right  to  his  fellow-men,  upon  the  theory  that  in 
the  long  run  the  advantages  derived  by  him  from  society 
would  outweigh  the  disadvantages  suffered.  This  is  the 
"rational"  sanction  for  the  majority  rule  in  all  popular 
government,  and  Bentham  only  translated  the  political 
doctrine  into  ethical  terms,  when  he  asserted  that  "right" 
conduct  is  such  as  results  in  the  greatest  good  to  the  great- 
est number. 

The  Utilitarian  school,  in  the  language  of  Sidgwick, 
"holds  that  all  rules  of  conduct  which  men  prescribe  to  one 
another  as  moral  rules,  are  really  —  though  in  part  un- 
consciously —  prescribed  as  means  to  the  general  happi- 
ness of  mankind." ^  The  chief  exponents  of  this  school  are 
Paley,  Bentham  and  the  Mills,  father  and  son,  although 
Kant's  ethical  injunction,  "Act  only  on  such  a  maxim 
as  may  also  be  a  universal  law,"  may  also  be  considered 
essentially  utilitarian,  inconsistent  as  it  is  with  the  in- 
tuitional theory  of  the  famous  philosopher. 

Finally,  the   school   of  social   thought  which   goes  to 

'  Henry  Sidgwick,  "The  Methods  of  Ethics,"  5th  Edition,  London, 
1893,  p.  8. 


44       THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND    MOVEMENT 

biology  for  the  discovery  of  rules  of  human  conduct,  has 
introduced  another  and  more  realistic  standard  of  right 
and  wrong  in  human  conduct.  According  to  Darwinian 
conceptions  the  strongest  motives  in  all  organic  life  are  the 
instincts  of  self-preservation  and  preservation  of  the 
species.  Applied  to  men  in  a  social  state  that  theory 
means  that  the  main  concern  of  human  beings  is  the  pres- 
ervation of  life,  and  that  such  conduct  of  the  individual 
will  be  regarded  as  good  or  right  as  tends  to  preserve  and 
enhance  the  life  of  his  fellow-men,  while  conduct  which 
tends  to  curtail  or  impair  such  life  will  be  considered  bad 
or  wrong. 

"Goodness,"  says  Herbert  Spencer,  "standing  by  itself, 
suggests,  above  all  other  things,  the  conduct  of  one  who 
aids  the  sick  in  re-acquiring  normal  vitality,  assists  the 
unfortunate  to  recover  the  means  of  maintaining  them- 
selves, defends  those  who  are  threatened  with  harm  in 
person,  property,  or  reputation,  and  aids  whatever  promises 
to  improve  the  living  of  all  his  fellows.  Contrariwise, 
badness  brings  to  mind,  as  its  leading  correlative,  the  con- 
duct of  the  one  who,  in  caring  for  his  own  life,  damages 
the  lives  of  others  by  injuring  their  bodies,  destroying 
their  possessions,  defrauding  them,  calumniating  them."  ^ 
And  Lester  F.  Ward  tersely  expresses  the  same  thought 
in  the  following  language:  "'Duty'  is  simply  conduct 
favorable  to  race  safety.  Virtue  is  an  attribute  of  life  and 
character  consistent  with  the  preservation  and  continuance 
of  man  on  earth.  Vice  is  the  reverse  of  this,  and  is  felt 
as  an  attack  upon  the  race."  ^ 

These,  then,  are  the  main  theories  of  right  and  wrong, 
as  conceived  by  the  contending  systems  of  ethical  thought. 

*  "Data  of  Ethics,"  pp.  24,  25.  '  "Pure  Sociology,"  p.  420. 


SOCIALISM   AND   ETHICS  .  45 

But  this  branch  of  the  subject  does  not  by  any  means 
exhaust  the  field  of  ethical  inquiry.  For  assuming  that  a 
true  standard  of  right  conduct  is  discovered,  there  still 
remains  the  more  important  question  as  to  the  motives 
which  impel  or  ought  to  impel  human  beings  to  conform 
to  that  standard.  The  mere  fact  that  we  recognize  a 
certain  mode  of  action  as  right  and  another  as  wrong  does 
not  imply  that  we  will  in  all  cases  follow  the  one  and  shun 
the  other.  What,  then,  is  the  factor  that  makes  or  ought  to 
make  us  choose  good  conduct  in  preference  to  bad  conduct  ? 

To  that  question  the  different  schools  make  different 
replies  according  to  their  conceptions  of  the  nature  of  the 
moral  obligation.  The  theological  school  holds  out  the 
promise  of  reward  in  a  life  beyond  the  grave.  The  in- 
tuitional school  declares  that  no  reward  is  required,  since 
the  individual  is  impelled  to  obey  the  moral  impulse  innate 
in  him,  the  irresistible  command  of  nature,  or,  as  Kant 
terms  it,  the  Categorical  Imperative.  "Thou  must  always 
fulfill  thy  destiny,"  decrees  the  celebrated  German  philoso- 
pher Fichte,  and  the  biological  school  of  ethics  practically 
makes  the  same  reply  except  that  it  substitutes  the  instinct 
of  preservation  of  the  species  for  the  intuitive  moral  sense. 

The  most  contradictory  and,  therefore,  the  least  satis- 
factory explanations  of  the  ethical  motives  of  men  are  those 
offered  by  the  schools  which  pride  themselves  with  being 
founded  on  pure  reason,  —  those  of  hedonism  and  utili- 
tarianism. 

Recognizing  that  mere  individual  self-interest  is  en- 
tirely inadequate  to  account  for  the  acts  of  altruism  which 
chiefly  constitute  high  moral  conduct,  the  hedonists  early 
resorted  to  the  theory  of  "intelligent  egoism"  as  distinct 
from  that  of  shortsighted  selfishness.    The  well-developed 


46       THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 

human  being,  they  argue,  is  so  constituted  that  he  ex- 
periences greater  pleasure  in  serving  his  fellow-men  than  in 
gratifying  his  own  narrow  desires.  In  promoting  the  well- 
being  of  his  fellows  he,  therefore,  primarily  procures  a 
pleasurable  emotion  for  himself  and  only  incidentally  rend- 
ers a  service  to  his  neighbor.  But  this  argument  carries 
its  own  destruction,  for  it  makes  the  basis  of  right  human 
conduct  not  the  self-interest  of  the  actor,  but  his  inner 
consciousness  or  instinct  of  duty  to  his  fellow-men,  the 
performance  of  which  causes  him  pleasure.  Neither  the 
hedonistic  theory  nor  the  utilitarian  conception,  which 
represents  man  in  organized  society  as  engaged  in  constant 
cold-blooded  bargaining  with  his  fellow-men  for  advantages, 
can  account  for  such  acts  as  the  voluntary  sacrifice  of  one's 
life  in  the  service  of  society.  And  on  the  other  hand  the 
idealistic  theories  of  ethics  do  not  even  attempt  to  explain 
motives  of  human  conduct,  but  virtually  abandon  the 
subject  as  beyond  their  ken. 

Within  this  charmed  circle  of  contradictions  the  philoso- 
phy of  ethics  oscillated  during  almost  the  entire  intellectual 
period  of  the  human  race,  and  little,  if  any,  substantial 
progress  was  made  in  twenty-five  centuries  of  the  career  of 
that  important  branch  of  thought.  It  was  only  when  the 
discussion  was  removed  from  the  domain  of  metaphysical 
speculation  to  the  field  of  positive  science,  that  ethics  ac- 
quired a  realistic  basis.  This  great  work  was  primarily 
accomplished  by  Charles  Darwin  and  his  disciples. 

The  Evolution  of  the  Moral  Sense 

The  main  features  of  the  Darwinian  theory  of  organic 
evolution  are,  as  is  generally  known,  the  doctrine  of  the 
struggle  for  existence  and  the  resulting  natural  selection 


SOCIALISM   AND   ETHICS  47 

through  the  survival  of  the  fittest,  the  development  of 
useful  organs  and  hereditary  transmission. 

In  a  state  of  nature  each  individual  is  engaged  in  con- 
stant struggle  with  individuals  of  its  ov^n  or  different 
species  and  with  surrounding  nature.  In  this  universal 
struggle  the  individuals  least  equipped  for  the  fight  and 
least  adapted  to  their  surroundings,  perish,  while  those 
who  happen  to  possess  organs  or  features  of  particular 
advantage  in  the  struggle,  survive,  and  by  the  frequent 
application  of  such  useful  organs  and  features,  develop 
them  ever  more  and  transmit  them  to  their  offspring  in  a 
higher  degree  of  development.  Thus  results  a  constant  pro- 
cess of  increasing  adaptation  to  surroundings  and  a  breed 
of  more  highly  and  efficiently  organized  individuals.  The 
struggle  for  existence  is  a  purely  individual  struggle  in  the 
lowest  forms  of  life,  and  the  struggle  between  individuals 
of  the  same  species  predominates  in  those  forms.  But  in 
the  ascending  scale  of  organic  existence  the  struggle  be- 
tween individuals  of  the  same  species  gradually  abates  and 
is  superseded  by  the  collective  struggles  of  such  individuals 
against  hostile  kinds  and  the  adverse  forces  of  nature 
around  them.  Social  organizations  thus  arise  among 
animals,  including  the  progenitors  of  primitive  men,  and 
these  organizations  prove  a  powerful  weapon  in  the  struggle 
for  existence  against  hostile  groups  or  species.  The  more 
compact  and  harmonious  the  organization,  the  greater  its 
efficiency  as  a  weapon  in  the  struggle  for  existence.  Hence- 
forward the  process  of  evolution  is  one  of  growing  soli- 
darity and  cohesion  among  the  individuals  of  the  same 
group  or  species  as  against  their  common  enemies,  and  this 
instinct  of  solidarity  and  cohesion  is  the  first  germ  of  the 
sense  of  social  duty  or  moral  consciousness. 


48        THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

"The  feeling  of  pleasure  from  society,"  says  Darwin, 
"is  probably  an  extension  of  the  parental  or  filial  affec- 
tions, since  the  social  instinct  seems  to  be  developed  by  the 
young  remaining  for  a  long  time  with  their  parents;  and 
this  extension  may  be  attributed  in  part  to  habit,  but 
chiefly  to  natural  selection.  With  those  animals  which 
were  benefited  by  living  in  close  association,  the  individuals 
which  took  the  greatest  pleasure  in  society  would  best 
escape  various  dangers,  whilst  those  that  cared  least  for 
their  comrades,  and  lived  solitary,  would  perish  in  greater 
numbers.  With  respect  to  the  origin  of  the  paternal  and 
filial  affections,  which  apparently  lie  at  the  base  of  the 
social  instincts,  we  know  not  the  steps  by  which  they  have 
been  gained ;  but  we  may  infer  that  it  has  been  to  a  large 
extent  through  natural  selection."^ 

And  again :  "  When  two  tribes  of  primeval  men,  living  in 
the  same  country,  came  into  competition  (other  circum- 
stances being  equal)  if  the  one  tribe  included  a  greater 
number  of  courageous,  sympathetic  and  faithful  members, 
who  were  always  ready  to  warn  each  other  of  danger,  to  aid 
and  defend  each  other,  this  tribe  would  succeed  better 
and  conquer  the  other.  .  .  .  Selfish  and  contentious  people 
will  not  cohere,  and  without  coherence  nothing  can  be 
effected.  A  tribe  rich  in  the  above  qualities  would  spread 
and  be  victorious  over  other  tribes;  but  in  the  course  of 
time  it  would,  judging  from  all  past  history,  be  in  its  turn 
overcome  by  some  other  tribe  still  more  highly  endowed. 
Thus  the  social  and  moral  qualities  would  tend  to  slowly 
advance  and  be  diffused  throughout  the  world."  ^ 

'  "The  Descent  of  Man,"  Collier  Edition,  New  York,  19QI,  pp.  144, 

145- 

2  Ibid.,  pp.  175,  176. 


SOCIALISM  AND  ETHICS  49 

These  mental  and  moral  qualities  once  generated  will 
on  the  whole  grow  in  the  course  of  evolution.  The  higher  a 
tribe  of  men  stands  in  the  scale  of  civilization,  the  less  will 
its  members  depend  on  their  purely  physical  powers  and 
the  greater  will  be  the  importance  of  their  mental  and 
moral  qualities. 

"In  proportion  as  physical  characteristics  become  less 
important,"  says  Alfred  Russel  Wallace,  who  shares  with 
Darwin  the  merit  of  the  discovery  of  the  theory  of  natural 
selection,  "mental  and  moral  qualities  will  have  an  in- 
creasing influence  on  the  well-being  of  the  race."  * 

Thus  the  moral  sense  is  a  product  of  the  process  of 
evolution  of  man,  gained  in  his  early  struggle  for  existence, 
precisely  in  the  same  manner  as  his  intellectual  qualities. 
It  is  a  property  of  man  in  a  state  of  society  just  as  much  as 
any  of  his  physical  organs,  or  as  Mr.  Bax  puts  it,  "the  ethi- 
cal sentiment  is  the  correlate  in  the  ideal  sphere,  of  the  fact 
of  social  existence  itself  in  the  material  sphere.  The  one  is 
as  necessarily  implied  in  the  other  as  the  man  is  implied  in 
his  shadow."  ^ 

This  conception  of  the  nature  of  morality  and  its  origin 
and  development  in  the  human  being  overthrows  all  earlier 
theories  of  ethics,  but  at  the  same  time  it  reconciles  all 
elements  of  truth  that  are  contained  in  them. 

The  primitive  men  did  not  deliberately  form  their  first 
social  organizations  on  the  strength  of  such  considerations 
as  are  contained  in  Rousseau's  "  Social  Contract."  They 
did  not  bargain  for  advantages  or  pleasures  to  be  bestowed 
on  them  by  society.  They  were  forced  into  organization 
by  the  superior  powers  of  struggle.     They  probably  first 

'  In  "Contributions  to  Natural  Selection." 

2  E.  Belfort  Bax,  "The  Ethics  of  Socialism,"  p.  4. 


50       THE  SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

herded  themselves  together  blindly,  unreasoningly.  But 
the  instinct  which  impelled  them  to  form  such  organiza- 
tions was  the  instinct  of  self-preservation,  the  inarticulate 
and  unexpressed  conviction  that  in  organization  lay  their 
greater  safety  and  protection,  and  that  by  their  own  de- 
votion to  the  social  aggregation  they  would  help  to 
strengthen  the  weapon  upon  the  efficiency  of  which  their 
lives  largely  depended.  The  primitive  men  or  their  pro- 
genitors were  in  that  sense  unconscious  hedonistic  and 
utilitarian  philosophers. 

But  the  moral  sense  once  evolved,  in  the  course  of  time 
became  a  permanent  trait  of  the  human  being,  an  innate  or 
intuitive  feeling,  and  in  this  sense  the  Idealistic  theories 
of  ethics  have  a  certain  degree  of  reason  and  justification. 
"The  social  instinct,"  says  Ernst  Haeckel,  "is  always  a 
physical  habit,  which  was  originally  acquired,  but  which, 
becoming  in  the  course  of  time  hereditary,  appears  at  last 
innate."  ^ 

The  conclusion  of  the  foremost  Darwinian  scholar  in 
Germany  thus  largely  coincides  with  those  of  the  foremost 
German  philosopher  of  Intuitionalism,  Immanuel   Kant. 

The  moral  sense  once  acquired  is,  like  all  other  properties 
of  the  human  being,  subject  to  growth.  The  rudimentary 
moral  instinct  of  the  primitive  man  must  have  undergone 
countless  phases  of  development  before  it  evolved  into  the 
lofty  conceptions  of  the  contemporary  moral  philosopher. 

But  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  consider  that  growth  as  a 
continuous,  automatic  and  regular  process.  The  moral 
sentiment  in  mankind  docs  not  grow  in  the  same  sense  as 
a  plant  or  other  physical  organism  grows,  i.e.,  by  steadily 

*  Quoted  by  C.  M.  Williams,  "A  Review  of  the  Systems  of  Ethics," 
etc.,  New  York,  1893. 


SOCIALISM   AND   ETHICS  5 1 

increasing  in  dimension  with  the  lapse  of  time.  Different 
races,  though  perhaps  of  the  same  age,  exhibit  different 
moral  perceptions  in  kind  and  degree,  and  even  within  the 
same  society  and  age  different  individuals  present  the  most 
divergent  degrees  of  the  moral  sentiment. 

The  growth  of  the  moral  sense,  like  the  growth 
of  the  intellect,  depends  upon  a  multiplicity  of  ex- 
ternal conditions  which  shape  its  contents  and  further 
or  arrest  its  progress.  What  is  the  nature  of  these  con- 
ditions ?  The  theory  of  natural  selection  traces  the  origin 
and  reveals  the  quality  of  the  moral  sense  in  man,  but  it 
fails  to  account  for  the  mode  and  laws  of  its  further  de- 
velopment. In  fact  the  founders  of  the  modern  school 
of  biological  evolution  distinctly  disclaim  the  effective- 
ness of  that  factor  as  applied  to  a  more  advanced  state  of 
human  society. 

"With  civilized  nations,"  declares  Darwin,  "as  far  as 
an  advanced  standard  of  morality  and  an  increased  number 
of  fairly  good  men  are  concerned,  natural  selection  ap- 
parently effects  but  little;  though  the  fundamental  social 
instincts  were  originally  thus  gained,"  ^  and  Mr.  Wallace 
is  still  more  emphatic  in  this  view  of  the  limited  scope  of 
operation  of  the  principle  of  natural  selection. 

What,  then,  are  the  factors  determining  the  degree  and 
direction  of  moral  development? 

The  answer  to  that  momentous  question  will  be  found 
in  the  philosophy  of  the  school  of  Karl  Marx,  who  alone 
consistently  introduced  the  spirit  of  Darwinism  into  the 
study  of  social  phenomena  by  substituting  the  economic 
interpretation  of  history  and  the  resulting  doctrine  of  the 
class  struggle  in  the  more  modern  stages  of  social  develop- 

»  "The  Descent  of  Man,"  p.  185. 


52        THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

ment  for  the  instinct  of  self-preservation  and  the  resulting 
doctrine  of  the  struggle  for  existence  in  its  lower  stages. 

Class  Ethics 

The  prime  concern  of  men  in  a  state  of  society  is  the 
production  of  the  means  for  the  sustenance  of  the  mem- 
bers of  that  society,  A  community  engaged  chiefly  in 
hunting,  pastoral,  agricultural  or  manufacturing  pursuits 
and  largely  depending  on  the  success  of  such  pursuits  for 
its  existence,  will  in  all  cases  arrange  its  organization  and 
regulate  its  functions  primarily  with  a  view  of  enhancing 
the  efficiency  of  that  particular  mode  of  securing  the  ma- 
terial life  of  its  members.  This  object  determines  all 
economic  and  political  forms  of  society,  and  in  the  last 
analysis  it  also  dominates  all  social  motives  and  notions. 

"In  the  social  production  which  men  carry  on,"  says 
Marx,  "they  enter  into  definite  relations  that  are  indis- 
pensable and  independent  of  their  will;  these  relations 
of  production  correspond  to  a  definite  stage  of  development 
of  their  material  powers  of  production.  The  sum  total 
of  these  relations  of  production  constitute  the  economic 
structure  of  society  —  the  real  foundation,  on  which  rise 
legal  and  political  superstructures  and  to  which  correspond 
definite  forms  of  social  consciousness.  The  mode  of  pro- 
duction in  material  life  determines  the  general  character 
of  the  social,  political  and  spiritual  processes  of  life.  It 
is  not  the  consciousness  of  men  that  determines  their  ex- 
istence, but,  on  the  contrary,  their  social  existence  deter- 
mines their  consciousness."  ^ 

Morality,  which  has  been  defined  by  Professor  Ward  as 

»  Karl  Marx,  "A  Contribution  to  the  Critique  of  Political  Economy," 
English  Translation,  New  York,  1904,  p.  11. 


SOCIALISM   AND   ETHICS  53 

conduct  conducive  to  "race  safety,"  and  by  Mr.  Stephen 
as  conduct  conducive  to  the  "health  of  society,"^  and 
which  in  the  earlier  stages  of  social  evolution  stands 
principally  for  courage  and  loyalty  in  combat,  in  a  more 
advanced  society  comes  to  a  large  extent  to  signify  conduct 
favoring  the  economic  efficiency  and  prosperity  of  the 
nation. 

The  glaring  differences  which  confront  us  in  the  codes 
of  ethics  of  different  communities,  or  within  the  same  com- 
munities at  different  times,  mostly  reflect  the  differences 
or  changes  of  the  economic  conditions  of  such  communi- 
ties, the  manner  of  maintaining  the  lives  of  their  members. 
A  savage  tribe  suffering  from  a  scarcity  of  food  may  have 
its  own  rudimentary  code  of  ethics,  but  such  a  code  will  not 
extend  its  ban  to  the  practices  of  devouring  its  captives 
in  war  or  slaying  its  aged  and  feeble  members.  When, 
however,  the  same  tribe  develops  to  the  point  of  using 
tools  and  implements  and  learns  to  produce  food  in  greater 
abundance,  the  practices  of  man-eating  and  of  killing  its 
own  members  become  immoral.  A  nation  like  the  ancient 
Spartans,  whose  subsistence  largely  depends  on  success 
in  war,  may  have  a  very  definite  and  strict  code  of  ethics, 
but  the  virtues  recognized  by  that  code  will  be  principally 
those  of  military  worth,  physical  strength,  courage  and 
quick-wittedness,  whereas  honesty  will  be  considered  a 
matter  of  moral  indifference,  and  the  practice  of  killing 
feeble  children,  even  a  moral  duty.  Conversely,  peaceful, 
pastoral  and  agricultural  communities  will  rate  honesty 
and  industry  as  the  highest  virtues,  and  show  but  little 
regard  for  courage  and  daring. 

'  Leslie  Stephen,  "The  Science  of  Ethics,"  2d  Edition,  New  York, 
1907. 


54       THE  SOCIALIST  PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 

Thus  each  community  primarily  formulates  in  its  code 
of  ethics  the  material  or  economic  welfare  of  its  members, 
while  within  each  community  the  standard  of  individual 
morality  is  the  degree  to  which  each  member  advances 
or  impairs  the  material  interests  of  his  fellow-members. 
In  the  earlier  types  of  social  organization  in  which  the 
material  interests  of  all  members  were  practically  identical 
and  in  which  the  individual  member  necessarily  benefited 
from  every  advantage  accruing  to  the  totality  of  members, 
and  vice  versa,  there  could  be  no  conflict  between  the 
interests  of  the  individual  and  those  of  society.  The 
material  welfare  of  the  community  was  easily,  we  may  say 
instinctively,  ascertainable  and  readily  conformed  to. 
The  system  of  morality,  such  as  it  was,  was  perfect. 

But  in  modern  communities  the  relations  of  the  indi- 
viduals to  society  and  to  each  other  are  by  no  means  so 
simple  and  harmonious.  The  division  of  labor  or  special- 
ization of  functions  which  has  marked  the  social  progress 
of  man,  together  with  the  accumulation  of  property  made 
possible  by  the  ever  growing  productivity  of  human  labor, 
have  split  up  all  more  modern  societies  into  different 
groups  of  members,  with  distinct  economic  interests. 
Society  or  "the  nation"  no  longer  represents  a  homogene- 
ous aggregation  of  individuals  with  uniform  and  harmonious 
material  interests,  and  the  standard  of  individual  morality 
as  conduct  favoring  the  safety,  health  or  economic  interests 
of  the  "  nation  "  loses  much  of  its  force.  For  in  the  modern 
class  state  conduct  which  is  beneficial  to  certain  groups  or 
classes  of  society  is  very  often  detrimental  to  other  groups 
or  classes,  and  especially  within  the  most  vital  sphere  of 
economic  activity  it  is  almost  impossible  to  conceive  of 
any  action  which  would  be  beneficial  to  all  society  alike. 


SOCIALISM   AND   ETHICS  55 

The  individual  who  invents  a  labor-saving  device  may  be 
said  in  the  abstract  to  be  benefiting  mankind  at  large, 
but  as  society  is  constituted  to-day,  his  invention  also  re- 
sults in  depriving  large  numbers  of  vvorkingmen  of  a  chance 
to  earn  their  living.  The  legislator  who  forces  the  intro- 
duction of  safety  appliances  in  dangerous  works  benefits 
a  certain  class  of  workers  but  at  the  same  time  he  injures 
the  material  interests  of  a  number  of  employers. 

What,  then,  is  the  true  standard  of  morality  applicable 
to  modern  society? 

We  have  mentioned  that  modern  society  consists  of 
various  interest  groups  or  classes.  These  classes  are 
formed  by  the  economic  relations  of  men  and  are  friendly, 
indifferent  or  hostile  to  each  other  according  to  the  nature 
of  such  relations.  But  between  all  these  divergent  social 
classes  we  may  draw  one  sharp  line  of  demarcation,  the 
line  that  separates  the  possessing  from  the  non-possessing, 
the  dominant  from  the  dependent  classes.  And  while 
the  material  interests  of  the  several  possessing  classes 
between  themselves  may  be  conflicting  at  different  points 
of  contact,  they  are  as  a  rule  fairly  harmonious  as  regards 
their  common  relations  to  the  dependent  classes.  And 
whenever  the  interests  of  these  dominant  classes  come  in 
conflict  with  those  of  the  dependent  classes,  the  former 
have  always  understood  it  to  represent  their  special  in- 
terests as  the  interests  of  society.  This  attitude  is  made  all 
the  easier  for  the  ruling  classes  because  their  interests  al- 
ways coincide  with  the  maintenance  of  the  existing  order 
and  relations,  and  are,  therefore,  conservative,  while  the 
interests  of  the  dependent  classes  lie  in  the  direction  of  a 
change  of  such  conditions  and  are,  therefore,  revolutionary. 

Moral  conduct,   as  ordinarily  interpreted,   is  conduct 


56       THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 

tending  to  conserve  the  existing  order.  In  the  modern 
class  state  such  conduct  is,  therefore,  conduct  conducive 
to  the  perpetuation  of  the  advantages  of  the  ruling  classes. 

"Ethics,"  says  Mr.  La  Monte  rather  forcibly,  "simply 
registers  the  decrees  by  which  the  ruling  class  stamps  with 
approval  or  brands  with  censure  human  conduct  solely 
with  reference  to  the  effect  of  that  conduct  on  the  welfare 
of  their  class.  This  does  not  mean  that  any  ruling  class 
has  ever  had  the  wit  to  devise  ah  initio  a  code  of  ethics 
perfectly  adapted  to  further  their  interests.  Far  from  it. 
The  process  has  seldom,  if  ever,  been  a  conscious  one. 
By  a  process  akin  to  natural  selection  in  the  organic  world, 
the  ruling  class  learns  by  experience  what  conduct  is 
helpful  and  what  hurtful  to  it,  and  blesses  in  the  one  case 
and  damns  in  the  other.  And  as  the  ruling  class  has 
always  controlled  all  the  avenues  by  which  ideas  reach 
the  so-called  lower  classes,  they  have  heretofore  been  able 
to  impose  upon  the  subject  classes  just  those  morals  which 
were  best  adapted  to  prolong  their  subjection."  ^ 

It  is  only  on  the  theory  of  the  class  character  of  modern 
ethics  that  the  curious  inconsistencies  in  our  moral  con- 
ceptions can  be  accounted  for.  The  strong  man  who 
should  deliberately  injure  a  weak  child  outside  of  his  busi- 
ness pursuits,  would  be  considered  by  his  fellow-men  as  an 
individual  of  a  low  moral  character,  but  the  powerful  and 
wealthy  mill  owner  who  daily  undermines  the  health  and 
saps  the  life  of  hundreds  of  inoffensive  children  of  tender 
age  in  the  "legitimate"  pursuit  of  his  business,  i.e.,  in  the 
process  of  profit  making,  is  regarded  by  us  as  a  perfectly 
moral  being.     He  may  be  the  superintendent  of  a  Sunday 

'  Robert  Rives  La  Monte,  "Socialism:  Positive  and  Negative," 
Chicago,  1907,  pp.  60,  61. 


SOCIALISM   AND   ETHICS  57 

school,  an  honored  member  of  an  Ethical  Culture  Society, 
or  may  be  sincerely  interested  in  the  missionary  task  of 
improving  the  moral  conditions  of  some  South  African 
tribe  of  savages. 

Similarly  the  owners  of  the  factories,  mines  and  rail- 
roads, w^ho  suffer  or  cause  large  numbers  of  their  fellow- 
men  to  lose  their  lives  on  account  of  insufficient  safety 
appliances  in  their  works,  and  the  dealers  in  food  stuffs, 
who  poison  their  fellow-men  by  adulterated  food,  meet 
with  no  particular  opprobrium  on  the  part  of  society, 
while  they  would  have  been  condemned  as  immoral 
wretches  if  they  had  been  guilty  of  similar  conduct  outside 
of  their  business  pursuits,  and  not  for  the  sake  of  profits. 

The  socialists  of  the  Marxian  school  do  not  agree  with 
thinkers  of  the  type  of  Mandeville,^  who  considers  moral- 
ity purely  artificial  and  a  device  of  the  ''politicians"  to 
strengthen  their  rule  on  their  fellow-men.  They  fully 
recognize  that  the  moral  sentiment  is  implanted  in  the 
normal  human  being  and  capable  of  very  high  development 
even  under  adverse  conditions.  Instances  of  men  and 
women  rising  above  their  class  interests  and  sacrificing 
their  material  welfare,  sometimes  even  their  lives,  in  the 
service  of  their  fellow-men,  are  of  frequent,  almost  daily 
occurrence,  and  cannot  be  accounted  for  on  any  economic 
or  materialistic  theory.  The  socialists  also  recognize 
that  outside  of  the  economic  sphere  of  human  activity, 
there  is  a  large  field  of  human  interest,  in  which  the  indi- 
viduals of  all  classes  meet  on  common  ground,  and  in 
which  the  moral  conceptions  correspond  to  the  actual 
welfare  of  all  mankind.     But  they  maintain  that  as  a  rule 

*  The  author  of  a  book  entitled  "The  Fable  of  the  Bees,  or  Private 
Vices  Public  Benefits,"  published  in  1724. 


58       THE  SOCIALIST  PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 

the  ethical  conceptions  dominating  the  "business"  inter- 
ests of  modern  nations,  and  the  various  social  activities 
and  organs  subservient  to  these  interests,  such  as  politics, 
the  agencies  molding  public  opinion,  etc.,  are  concep- 
tions favoring  the  interests  of  the  dominant  classes  only. 
They  are  the  ethics  of  the  ruling  classes  falsely  parading 
as  general  social  ethics. 

The  Ethical  Ideal  and  Socialist  Morality 

When  we  speak  of  a  certain  degree  of  development  of 
the  moral  faculty  and  when  we  distinguish  a  rudimentary 
form  of  morality  from  a  highly  evolved  form,  we  must 
necessarily  have  in  mind  a  standard  of  comparison.  Such 
a  standard  of  comparison  is  the  ethical  ideal,  which  to  us 
represents  the  limit  of  all  moral  conduct  and  by  the  ap- 
proach to  which  we  judge  a  concrete  code  of  morals  to  be 
high  or  low. 

An  ethical  ideal  —  Absolute  Ethics,  Spencer  terms  it  — ■ 
does  not  imply  a  belief  in  a  code  of  morality  good  for  all 
times  and  places  and  independent  of  all  existing  physical 
conditions.  It  merely  represents  our  view  of  the  last 
phase  of  moral  evolution  in  civilized  society,  based  upon 
our  observation  of  the  course  of  such  evolution  in  the  past. 
Such  an  ideal  is  as  useful  for  the  purposes  of  practical 
ethics  as  general  and  abstract  laws  of  pure  science  are 
useful  for  the  study  of  concrete  phenomena. 

Most  of  the  modern  writers  on  the  subject  have,  there- 
fore, outlined  ideal  standards  of  ethics,  and  most  of  these 
outlines  agree  in  their  fundamental  characteristics. 

According  to  Spencer's  definition  ethical  conduct  is 
such  as  is  conducive  to  the  welfare  of  self,  offspring  and 


SOCIALISM   AND   ETHICS  59 

race,  and  the  best,  i.e.,  most  normal  conduct  is  that  which 
fulfills  all  the  three  conditions  simultaneously  and  most 
efficiently.  Such  conduct,  however,  can  only  be  attained 
in  a  state  of  society  in  which  the  interests  of  the  individual 
and  those  of  society  are  entirely  identical,  and  in  which 
"general  happiness  is  to  be  achieved  mainly  through  the 
adequate  pursuit  of  their  own  happiness  by  individuals, 
while  reciprocally,  the  happiness  of  the  individual  is  to  be 
achieved  in  part  by  the  pursuit  of  the  general  happiness."  ^ 

Whether  we  agree  in  all  parts  with  this  definition  or 
whether  we  confine  the  scope  of  ethics  to  conduct  towards 
society  or  one's  fellow-men,  does  not  alter  the  validity  of 
the  conclusion.  The  relations  of  the  individual  and  society 
are  those  of  mutual  service,  and  the  progress  of  morality 
consists  in  the  growth  of  these  relations,  or  in  the  words 
of  Huxley,  "in  the  gradual  strengthening  of  the  social 
bond."  ^ 

The  limit  of  moral  evolution  can  thus  be  reached  only 
in  a  state  of  society  free  from  material  and  other  antago- 
nisms between  the  individuals  among  themselves  and  be- 
tween the  individual  and  society.  In  such  society  the 
question  of  right  and  wrong  is  entirely  obviated,  since  no 
normal  conduct  of  the  individual  can  hurt  society,  and 
all  acts  of  society  must  benefit  the  individual.  Organic 
morality  takes  the  place  of  ethics. 

Such  an  ideal  state  of  organic  morality  may  be  unattain- 
able in  its  absolute  purity,  but  the  trend  of  evolution  is  in 
its  general  direction.  All  factors  which  impede  the  path 
to  its  approximate  realization  are  anti-ethical  or  immoral ; 

*  Herbert  Spencer,  "Social  Statics." 

^  Thomas  H.  Huxley,  "Evolution  and  Ethics,"  New  York,  1896, 
P-  35- 


6o       THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND    MOVEMENT 

contrariwise,  all  factors  or  movements  which  tend  in  its 
direction  are  ethical. 

In  modern  society  the  checks  to  the  realization  of  ideal 
morality  are  numerous.  As  indicated  in  the  previous 
chapter,  the  existence  of  social  classes  and  the  resulting 
class  struggles  are  the  chief  impediments  to  a  true  social 
morality.  But  the  direct  action  of  the  struggle  between 
antagonistic  classes  in  the  same  society  does  not  by  any 
means  exhaust  the  evil.  Some  of  the  indirect  effects  of 
the  class  state  based  on  individual  production  are  even 
more  disastrous  to  the  progress  of  true  morality  than  its 
direct  operations.  And  chief  among  such  effects  are  the 
two  most  anti-social  institutions  —  competition  and  war. 

"The  competitive  struggle,"  says  Kautsky,  "affects 
the  social  instincts  of  the  individuals  in  the  same  society 
most  distinctively.  For  in  this  struggle  each  individual 
maintains  himself  best  the  less  he  permits  himself  to  be 
influenced  by  social  considerations  and  the  more  he  is 
guided  by  his  own  interests.  For  the  member  of  the  capi- 
talist society  based  on  individual  competitive  production, 
it  is,  therefore,  quite  natural  to  consider  egoism  as  the  only 
legitimate  instinct  in  man,  and  to  regard  the  social  in- 
stincts as  refined  forms  of  egoism  or  as  an  invention  of 
the  priests  to  fasten  their  rule  on  men  or  as  a  supernatural 
mystery."  ^ 

Wars  are  regarded  by  Herbert  Spencer  as  the  chief  ob- 
stacle to  the  progress  of  moral  development,  and  in  his 
"  Data  of  Ethics,"  as  well  as  in  his  later  work,  "  The  Deduc- 
tions of  Ethics,"  the  theory  occurs  again  and  again  that  a 
"state  of  war"  is  incompatible  with  an  ideal  morality,  and 

*  Karl  Kautsky,  "Ethik  und  Materialistische  Geschichtsauffassung," 
Stuttgart,  1906,  pp.  105,  io6. 


SOCIALISM   AND    ETHICS  6 1 

that  the  latter  is  only  attainable  in  perfectly  peaceful  socie- 
ties. Spencer  does  not  take  cognizance  of  the  class  struggle 
and  of  the  economic  interpretation  of  history.  To  him  "  a 
state  of  war"  and  "a  state  of  peace"  are  merely  phases  of 
moral  development  in  human  society.  But  as  a  matter 
of  fact  wars  depend  but  litde  on  the  degree  of  civilization 
attained  by  the  community.  The  most  advanced  states 
are  frequently  also  the  most  warlike  states.  Wars  in  mod- 
ern times  are  most  often  caused  by  economic  motives. 
They  are  usually  the  results  of  the  competitive  struggles 
of  the  capitalist  classes  of  the  belligerent  nations  for  the 
markets  of  the  world,  the  logical  counterparts  of  competi- 
tion in  the  national  markets. 

To  the  industrial  individualism  which  is  the  leading 
feature  of  modern  society  corresponds  a  gross  egoism  in  all 
spheres  of  our  material  existence  which  sets  individual 
against  individual  and  throttles  all  nobler  social  instincts 
in  man.  Employer  and  employee,  producer  and  consumer, 
buyer  and  seller,  landlord  and  tenant,  lender  and  borrower, 
are  always  arrayed  against  each  other,  constantly  and 
necessarily  meeting  in  a  spirit  of  antagonism  of  interests, 
incessantly  engaged  in  conscious  or  unconscious  economic 
struggle  with  each  other.  And  all  these  forms  of  economic 
struggle  are  but  single  phases  of  the  broader  and  deeper 
class  struggle  which  is  the  dominant  factor  in  modern  in- 
dustrial life  and  largely  determines  all  current  moral  con- 
ceptions. 

But  the  class  struggle  is  not  an  unmitigated  evil.  Just 
as  the  struggle  for  existence  among  individuals  in  the 
lower  forms  of  human  existence  led  to  the  improvement  of 
the  race  and  eventually  matured  the  conditions  of  its  own 
destruction,  just  so  the  class  struggles  in  advanced  societies 


62        THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

have  often  been  the  instruments  for  the  improvement  of  the 
social  type  and  will  eventually  lead  to  the  abolition  of  all 
classes  and  class  struggles. 

The  struggles  between  the  bourgeoisie,  the  progenitors 
of  the  modern  capitalist  class,  and  the  ruling  class  of  land- 
owners, have  yielded  many  valuable  acquisitions  to  modern 
civilization,  and  have  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  mod- 
ern society,  which  with  all  its  faults  and  imperfections  is 
vastly  superior  to  the  feudal  order  which  it  displaced.  The 
struggles  of  the  dependent  classes  against  the  ruling  classes 
in  modern  society  have  already  produced  the  rudiments 
of  a  nobler  social  morality,  and  are  rapidly  preparing  the 
ground  for  a  still  higher  order  of  civilization. 

The  modern  working  class  is  gradually  but  rapidly 
emancipating  itself  from  the  special  morality  of  the  ruling 
classes.  In  their  common  struggles  against  the  oppression 
of  the  capitalist  class  the  workers  are  naturally  led  to  the 
recognition  of  the  value  of  compact  organization  and 
solidary,  harmonious  action.  Within  their  own  ranks 
they  have  no  motive  for  struggle  or  competition;  their 
interests  are  in  the  opposite  direction.  And  as  the  struggles 
of  their  class  against  the  rule  of  capitalism  become  more 
general  and  concrete,  more  conscious  and  effective,  there 
grows  in  them  a  sentiment  of  class  loyalty,  class  solidarity 
and  class  consciousness  which  is  the  basis  of  a  new  and 
distinct  code  of  ethics.  The  modern  labor  movement  is 
maturing  its  own  standards  of  right  and  wrong  conduct, 
its  own  social  ideals  and  morality.  Good  or  bad  conduct 
has  largely  come  to  mean  to  them  conduct  conducive  to 
the  welfare  and  success  of  their  class  in  its  struggles  for 
emancipation.  They  admire  the  true,  militant  and  de- 
voted "labor  leader,"  the  hero  in  their  struggles  against 


SOCIALISM   AND   ETHICS  63 

the  employing  class.    They  detest  the  "  scab,"  the  deserter 
from  their  ranks  in  these  struggles. 

The  two  historical  slogans  given  to  the  modern  socialist 
and  labor  movement  by  Karl  Marx  and  Frederick  Engels, 
"The  emancipation  of  the  workingmen  can  only  be  ac- 
complished by  the  workingmen  themselves,"  and  "Work- 
ingmen of  all  countries  unite,  you  have  nothing  to  lose 
but  your  chains,  you  have  a  world  to  gain !  "  —  may  truly 
be  said  to  be  the  main  precepts  of  the  new  morality  of  the 
working  class.  They  inspire  the  "lower"  classes  with  the 
consciousness  of  a  great  social  mission  to  be  performed  by 
them  in  modern  society ;  they  foster  the  virtues  of  com- 
radeship and  self-reliance  in  their  ranks,  and  develop  the 
qualities  of  fidelity  and  devotion  to  their  common  cause. 

This  new  morality  is  by  no  means  ideal  social  morality. 
It  is  the  ethics  of  struggle,  class  ethics  as  yet.  But  just 
because  it  is  the  ethics  of  a  subjugated  class  engaged  in  the 
struggle  for  its  emancipation,  it  is  superior  to  the  prevailing 
ethics  of  the  class  bent  upon  maintaining  acquired  privi- 
leges. The  workingmen  cannot  abolish  the  capitalist 
class  rule  without  abolishing  all  class  rule;  they  cannot 
emancipate  themselves  without  emancipating  all  mankind. 
Behind  the  socialist  theory  of  the  existing  class  struggle 
lies  the  conception  of  a  classless,  harmonious  society; 
behind  the  conception  of  the  international  solidarity  of 
the  working  class  lies  the  ideal  of  the  world-wide  solidarity 
of  the  human  race.  The  ideals  of  the  modem  socialist 
and  labor  movement  thus  generally  coincide  with  the 
scientific  conceptions  of  absolute  morality. 

Of  course,  in  both  cases  we  are  dealing  with  ideals, 
and  ideals  only.  We  must  recognize  that  the  realities  of 
life  always  fall  short  of  social  ideals.     Socialism  does  not 


64        THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

imply  a  state  of  absolute  and  universal  harmony.  The 
human  mind  cannot  conceive  to-day  a  state  of  society  free 
from  all  antagonism  and  frictions  caused  by  differences  in 
temperament,  views  and  even  temporary  material  interests. 
There  will  probably  always  be  some  individual  infractions 
of  the  accepted  canons  of  social  morality,  but  there  will  be 
no  universal  economic  motive  for  such  infractions,  and 
they  wdll  necessarily  become  less  flagrant  in  character  and 
less  frequent  in  number,  they  will  cease  to  be  the  rule  in 
human  conduct,  and  will  become  the  exception. 

"The  conflict  of  the  individual  with  society,"  says 
Charles  Kendall  Franklin,  "is  of  two  kinds.  On  the  one 
hand,  it  is  carried  on  by  specialized  individuals  whose 
function  is  to  develop  and  perfect  society  by  developing 
the  moral  and  social  senses;  on  the  other,  the  conflict  is 
between  society  and  the  rank  individualist  who  will  not 
be  subdued  by  society,  who  persists  in  expending  his 
energies  in  as  wasteful  a  manner  as  he  sees  fit  so  it  benefits 
himself.  Civilization  is  full  of  such  people  to-day.  They 
are  powerful  individuals,  they  head  corporations,  they 
compose  the  professions,  they  constitute  the  classes.  They 
believe  in  society  for  their  own  benefit  and  hoot  at  the 
socialization  of  the  race  as  the  rankest  nonsense.  .  .  . 
Their  worst  representative  is  the  degenerate  and  criminal ; 
individuals  who  cannot  adapt  themselves  at  all  to  the 
development  of  society  to-day."  * 

Of  the  two  kinds  of  anti-social  individuals  so  charac- 
terized by  Franklin,  the  "specialized"  individual  and  the 
pathological  criminal,  the  men  physically  and  morally 
constituted  above  or  below  their  fellow-men,  may  survive 
forever  in  larger  or  smaller  numbers,  but  the  "rank  indi- 

*  "The  Socialization  of  Humanity,"  Chicago,  1904,  p.  210. 


SOCIALISM   AND   ETHICS  65 

vidualist"  who  preys  upon  his  fellow-men  and  tramples 
on  social  soHdarity,  mainly  from  motives  of  material  gain, 
can  find  but  little  room  in  a  society  based  on  cooperative 
production  and  common  social  enjoyment.  With  the 
change  of  his  economic  interests  and  motives  man  will 
necessarily  change  his  conduct. 

"The  ethics  of  socialism,"  observes  Bax  on  this  point, 
"seeks  not  the  ideal  society  through  the  ideal  individual, 
but  conversely  the  ideal  individual  through  the  ideal 
society.  It  finds  in  an  adequate,  a  free  and  harmonious 
social  life,  at  once  the  primary  condition  and  the  end  and 
completion  of  individuality."  ^ 

^  "The  Ethics  of  Socialism,"  p.  19. 


CHAPTER  IV 

SOCIALISM  AND  LAW 

The  Law 

In  our  occasional  contact  with  the  law  we  are  but  too 
apt  to  concentrate  our  attention  on  the  concrete  legal 
enactments  and  rules  of  procedure,  and  to  lose  sight  of 
the  body  of  the  law  as  a  dynamic  system. 

Here  we  will  not  concern  ourselves  with  the  anatomy  of 
the  law,  but  rather  with  its  physiology,  and  will  consider 
the  law  as  a  social  force  in  its  relation  to  the  general  pro- 
cess of  social  development. 

Under  the  designation  "Law"  in  the  broadest  sense  of 
the  term,  we  understand  the  entire  body  of  legislative 
enactments,  rules  and  regulations  which  prescribe  the 
relations  of  man  to  man,  man  to  state,  state  to  man  and 
state  to  state. 

The  law  thus  defined  is  not  fixed  or  universal :  it  varies 
with  the  different  types  of  civilization  past  and  present. 
There  is  a  radical  difference  between  the  laws  of  the 
ancient  Greek  communities,  mediaeval  European  society, 
and  the  modern  civilized  states,  and  there  is  as  radical  a 
difference  between  the  systems  of  law  prevalent  in  the 
semi-barbaric  countries  of  South  Africa,  the  empire  of 
China  and  the  democracy  of  the  United  States. 

Nor  are  the  laws  of  any  given  country  immutable.     In 

66 


SOCIALISM   AND   LAW  6^ 

fact,  nothing  is  more  changeable  than  the  system  of  na- 
tional laws  in  the  modern  countries.  Every  year  volumes 
of  new  laws  and  ordinances  are  issued  from  the  halls  of 
Congress  or  parliaments,  the  inferior  legislative  chambers 
and  the  councils  of  thousands  of  municipalities;  every 
year  innumerable  old  laws  are  repealed  or  amended,  and 
innumerable  new  laws  are  enacted.  The  thing  that  is 
legal  to-day  may  be  branded  as  a  crime  to-morrow,  new 
rights  may  be  conferred  on  or  taken  from  us,  and  new 
duties  may  be  imposed  on  us  by  every  legislative  session, 
and  especially  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  countries  new  laws  may 
grow  out  overnight  by  the  process  of  judicial  "construc- 
tion." 

But  these  changes  in  the  law  are  by  no  means  arbitrary. 
Individual  measures  may  at  times  be  needless  and  illogical, 
but  m  the  long  run  all  changes  in  a  given  system  of  law 
mark  a  development  in  a  certain  definite  direction.  A 
system  of  jurisprudence  is  just  as  much  subject  to  the 
laws  of  evolution  as  any  other   social    institution. 

The  primitive  man  has  but  little  use  or  occasion  for 
laws.  But  the  higher  the  plane  of  human  civilization,  the 
closer  the  interrelation  of  men,  the  greater  becomes  the 
need  of  definite  rules  of  conduct  of  the  members  of  such 
organization  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  common  wel- 
fare. Those  of  such  rules  that  are  more  vital  to  the  main- 
tenance of  the  social  fabric  are  as  a  rule  enacted  into  formal 
laws,  while  those  of  less  direct  and  important  bearing  are 
left  within  the  domain  of  ethics.  "Normally,"  says  Mr. 
Sidgwick,  "  in  a  well-organized  society  the  most  important 
and  indispensable  rules  of  social  behavior  will  be  legally 
enforced,  and  the  less  important  left  to  be  maintained  by 
Positive  Morality.  .  .  .     Law  will  constitute,  as  it  were. 


68        THE  SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

the  skeleton  of  social  order,  clothed  by  the  flesh  and  blood 
of  Morality."  ^  Law  and  ethics  have  thus  a  common 
origin,  and  while  by  no  means  identical  in  all  respects,  they 
present  a  great  similarity  in  many  aspects. 

Law,  like  ethics,  springs  from  the  economic  and  social 
conditions  of  the  nations,  and  from  its  very  origin  it  must 
be  adapted  to  and  change  with  those  conditions.  A  tribe, 
race  or  nation  will  in  each  period  establish  such  rules  or 
laws  as  will  be  most  conducive  to  the  successful  pursuit 
of  its  mode  of  subsistence,  and  as  each  of  the  succeeding 
economic  and  social  orders  gradually  grow  out  of  the 
preceding  systems,  new  laws  are  created  to  meet  the 
changed  situation.  The  feudal  system  gave  us  the  Law 
of  Real  Property,  the  development  of  national  and  inter- 
national commerce  led  to  the  Law  of  Negotiable  Instru- 
ments, the  rise  of  the  factory  inscribed  the  Labor  Laws  in 
our  statute  book,  and  practically  in  our  own  times  the 
introduction  of  railroads,  telegraphs  and  telephones  added 
new  and  important  branches  to  our  body  of  law,  while  the 
more  recent  economic  categories  of  corporations  and  trusts 
still  keep  our  legislative  mills  busy.  "  The  evolution  which 
led  men  to  an  orderly  social  life  did  not  consist  in  the  dia- 
lectic self-development  of  juridic  ideas,"  says  Arnold 
Lindwurm,  "but  in  the  economic  development  brought 
about  by  social  necessity."  ^ 

The  law  of  each  civilization,  again  like  its  ethics,  not 
only  reflects  the  economic  and  social  conditions  of  the 
times,  but  is  primarily  designed  to  safeguard  and  maintain 
those  conditions.     That  is  why  we  find  such  a  variance 


I  "' 


'The  Methods  of  Ethics,"  p.  19. 

^  "Das   Eigenthumsrecht   und   die   Menschheits  —  Idee   im  Staate," 
Leipsic,  1878,  p.  139. 


SOCIALISM   AND   LAW  69 

in  the  criminal  law  of  different  states  in  its  estimate  of  the 
gravity  of  certain  crimes.  "Every  state,"  says  Dr.  Ru- 
dolph von  Ihering,  "punishes  those  crimes  most  severely 
which  threaten  its  own  peculiar  condition  of  existence, 
while  it  allows  a  moderation  to  prevail  in  regard  to  other 
crimes  which,  not  unfrequently,  presents  a  very  striking 
contrast  to  its  severity  as  against  the  former.  A  theocracy 
brands  blasphemy  and  idolatry  as  crimes  deserving  of 
death,  while  it  looks  on  a  boundary  violation  as  a  mere 
misdemeanor  (Mosaic  Law).  The  agricultural  state,  on 
the  other  hand,  visits  the  latter  with  the  severest  punish- 
ment, while  it  lets  the  blasphemer  go  with  the  lightest 
punishment  (Old  Roman  Law).  The  commercial  state 
punishes  most  severely  the  uttering  of  false  coin;  the 
mihtary  state,  insubordination  and  breach  of  oflicial  duty ; 
the  absolute  state,  high  treason;  the  republic,  the  striving 
after  regal  power;  and  they  all  manifest  a  severity  in 
these  points  which  contrasts  greatly  with  the  manner  in 
which  they  punish  other  crimes.  In  short,  the  reaction  of 
the  feeling  of  legal  right,  both  of  states  and  individuals, 
is  most  violent  when  they  feel  themselves  threatened  in  the 
conditions  of  existence  peculiar  to  them."  * 

The  statement  that  the  law  is  always  designed  to  safe- 
guard the  existing  economic  conditions  of  society  must, 
however,  again  as  in  the  case  of  ethics,  be  qualified 
by  the  further  statement  that  the  law  of  each  period  is 
primarily  designed  to  safeguard  and  protect  the  interests 
of  the  dominant  classes  within  such  society. 

The  legal  systems  of  antiquity,  the  Greek  and  Roman 
Law,  made  no  attempt  to  disguise  that  fact.  The  subject 
class,   the  class   of  slaves,   frequently   the  overwhelming 

»  "Struggle  for  Law,"  English  Translation,  Chicago,  1879,  pp.  45,46. 


70       THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

majority  of  the  population,  was  placed  beyond  the  pale 
of  the  law.  The  slave  was  excluded  from  the  protection 
of  the  law  and  left  to  the  arbitrary  treatment  of  his  master. 
The  institution  of  serfdom,  which  lasted  throughout  the 
Middle  Ages  and  in  some  instances  survived  into  the  nine- 
teenth century,  presents  a  similar  state  of  affairs. 

Prior  to  the  great  French  Revolution,  the  nobility  and 
clergy  openly  enjoyed  special  legal  privileges  from  which 
the  common  people  were  excluded,  and  while  the  form  of 
legal  class  favoritism  has  been  abolished  in  most  of  the 
enlightened  contemporary  states,  our  laws  on  the  whole 
still  favor  the  ruling  classes. 

Since  the  law  is  the  expression  of  social  and  economic 
conditions  in  motion,  every  improvement  in  those  condi- 
tions leads  to  a  corresponding  improvement  in  the  system 
of  law.  The  course  of  political  and  economic  improve- 
ment which  on  the  whole  marks  our  social  progress,  reflects 
itself  in  the  ever-growing  tendency  towards  equity  and 
justice  in  law.  Compared  with  the  iniquitous  laws  of 
mediaeval  ages,  our  laws  to-day  are  exceedingly  humane, 
and  generally  speaking,  every  succeeding  phase  of  a  legal 
system  is  superior  to  the  preceding  phase.  This  applies 
to  all  domains  of  the  law  —  private,  public  and  inter- 
national. 

But  legal  progress  does  not  run  parallel  with  social 
and  economic  advance.  As  a  rule  the  law  lags  somewhat 
behind  existing  conditions.  New  factors  in  our  industrial 
life  from  time  to  time  create  new  social  conditions,  and 
produce  new  conceptions  of  social  rights  and  obligations. 
These  remain  abstract  and  debatable  theories  until  such 
time  as  they  have  been  incorporated  in  the  statute  books, 
and  a  penalty  has  been  attached  to  their  violation.    Then, 


SOCIALISM  AND   LAW  7 1 

and  then  only,  they  are  transferred  from  the  domain  of 
ethics  to  that  of  law. 

But  the  recognition  of  these  rights,  as  a  rule,  does  not 
occur  automatically.  Moral  rights  do  not  ripen  into  laws 
by  a  process  of  natural  growth,  nor  are  acquired  laws  self- 
executing.  Reforms  in  law  and  legal  redress  are  conquered 
in  struggle,  and,  in  most  cases,  in  hard,  obstinate  struggle. 
The  effort  to  effect  equitable  legal  reform  or  secure  such 
redress,  the  "struggle  for  law,"  as  Dr.  von  Ihering  terms 
it,  assumes  different  forms  in  the  different  provinces  of 
the  law.  In  the  domain  of  private  law  such  efforts  find 
daily  application  in  litigation;  in  the  domain  of  public 
law,  these  efforts  are  expressed  in  politics,  and  their  realiza- 
tion is  sometimes  effected  by  revolutions;  in  international 
law  the  struggle  is  expressed  in  the  diplomatic  dealings  of 
the  nations,  and  sometimes  culminates  in  war.  "  All  social 
classes,"  says  the  eminent  Italian  jurist  Alfredo  Tortori, 
"  are  impelled  to  make  such  laws,  to  establish  such  insti- 
tutions and  to  sanction  such  customs  and  beliefs  as  accord 
with  their  direct  or  indirect  interests.  Hence  the  perpet- 
ual movement  which  drives  men  and  groups  to  change  ex- 
isting laws  and  to  adapt  them  to  new  social  interests."  ^ 

And  this  struggle  for  right  and  law  is  the  key  to  all  social 
progress.  The  man  who  suffers  personal  wrong  without 
protest  or  opposition,  the  "peaceful"  member  of  the  com- 
munity, is  a  demoralizing  factor  in  our  social  fabric;  the 
class  that  does  not  struggle  for  civic  and  industrial  rights 
will  eventually  lapse  into  slavery;  and  the  nation  that 
passively  countenances  encroachments  upon  its  rights 
and  territory  is  doomed  to  dismemberment  and  national 
bankruptcy. 

*  "Socialisme  et  droit  prive,"  in  Le  Devenir  Social,  1896,  p.  251. 


72        THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

It  is  the  man  who  defends  his  rights,  the  class  that 
battles  for  pohtical  and  industrial  advancement,  and  the 
nation  that  holds  its  own  against  the  entire  world;  it  is 
the  "litigious"  person,  the  "revolutionary"  class  and  the 
''  vigilant "  nation  that  keep  the  world  from  stagnation 
and  force  it  onward  on  the  path  of  progress. 

Conservatism  and  meekness  and  the  pietistic  veneration 
for  the  laws  and  customs  of  our  forefathers,  are  not  civic 
virtues,  but  vicious  manifestations  of  mental  indolence  and 
political  reaction.  The  progress  of  mankind  lies  in  the 
future,  not  in  the  past. 

Let  us  test  the  truth  of  these  general  observations  by  a 
comparison  of  three  systems  of  law  corresponding  to  three 
phases  of  human  civilization ;  the  feudal  system,  immedi- 
ately preceding  our  own,  the  modern  or  capitalistic  system 
and  the  proposed  system  of  socialism. 

The  Feudal  System  of  Law 

The  system  of  feudalism  was  evolved  in  the  period  of 
turbulence  into  which  Europe  was  thrown  by  the  migra- 
tion of  nations,  and  represented  the  first  attempt  to  reduce 
the  general  social  chaos  and  confusion  of  that  period  to 
some  social  order. 

The  system  was  based  on  landownership  and  agriculture, 
both  of  which  were  rendered  highly  precarious  by  inces- 
sant wars  and  pillage,  and  naturally  produced  all  the 
complex  features  of  the  social,  political  and  legal  organiza- 
tion of  feudal  society. 

The  tiller  of  the  soil  in  the  early  stages  of  feudal  civiliza- 
tion was  in  constant  danger  of  having  his  fields  devastated 
and  crops  destroyed  by  the  incursion  of  hostile  hordes  of 
marauders,   and   the  protection   from   this   ever  present 


SOCIALISM  AND   LAW  73 

danger  was  a  necessary  part  of  his  agricultural  pursuits. 
The  man  with  the  sword  was  as  indispensable  to  the  culti- 
vation of  the  land  as  the  man  with  the  plow,  and  the  first 
division  of  labor  in  feudal  society  is  formed  on  these  lines. 
The  warrior  is  a  public  functionary  in  the  early  feudal 
community ;  he  protects  the  tillers  of  the  soil  from  molesta- 
tion in  the  pursuit  of  their  daily  occupations,  and  in  return 
he  receives  from  them  his  necessary  means  of  subsistence 
in  the  shape  of  a  portion  of  their  crops.  The  warrior 
lives  among  the  other  members  of  the  community;  he  is 
part  of  them,  but  his  dwelling  house  is  the  largest  in  the 
settlement,  and  is  fortified,  so  as  to  offer  a  refuge  to  the 
villagers  and  their  property  and  cattle  in  case  of  attack. 

In  the  further  progress  of  feudal  civilization  the  social 
relations  become  more  permanent  and  fixed.  The  division 
of  social  functions  develops  into  class  differences.  The 
warrior  through  long  years  of  use  and  a  process  of  heredi- 
tary transmission  of  social  functions  arrogates  to  himself 
the  power  over  his  fellow-men  which  the  monopoly  of  arms 
places  in  his  hands:  the  settlement  becomes  the  feudal 
Manor,  and  the  fortified  manor  house,  the  Castle;  the 
warrior  turns  into  the  Noble,  the  worker  into  the  Villein, 
and  the  voluntary  compensation  for  military  services  grows 
into  a  fixed  annual  tribute  —  the  Tithe  and  compulsory 
military  service. 

Land  was  now  the  principal  wealth  and  source  of  power 
in  feudal  society,  and  pillage  and  robbery  the  accepted 
means  of  its  acquisition.  War  became  the  industrial 
pursuit  of  the  noble. 

Conquering  a  strange  community,  the  victorious  leader 
frequently  reduced  its  inhabitants  to  the  state  of  serfdom, 
appropriated  their  land,  and  endowed  his  retainers  with 


74        THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

portions  of  it.  But  just  as  frequently  the  noble  "  protector" 
would  rob  his  own  subjects  of  large  parcels  of  the  commu- 
nal land.  The  class  of  the  nobles  thus  became  a  land- 
owning class,  and  brute  force  was  the  origin  of  its  title. 

The  greed  for  land  and  the  necessity  of  defending  their 
possessions  engendered  an  ever  increasing  strife  among  the 
nobles  and  led  to  military  offensive  and  defensive  alliances 
between  them  which  made  up  the  graduated  and  complex 
political  structure  of  mediseval  society. 

At  this  stage  of  development,  which  we  may  consider 
the  period  of  bloom  of  feudal  civilization,  the  social  rela- 
tions, notwithstanding  their  rough  appearances,  are  still 
not  altogether  based  on  force.  The  social  order,  strange 
as  it  may  seem,  still  rests  very  largely  on  the  principle  of 
mutual  service  between  the  classes. 

"The  feudal  lord,"  says  Lafargue,  "only  holds  his  land 
and  possesses  a  claim  on  the  labor  and  harvests  of  his 
tenants  and  vassals  on  condition  of  doing  suit  and  service 
to  his  superiors  and  lending  aid  to  his  dependants.  On 
accepting  the  oath  of  fealty  and  homage  the  lord  engaged 
to  protect  his  vassal  against  all  and  sundry  by  all  the  means 
at  his  command;  in  return  for  which  support  the  vassal 
was  bound  to  render  military  and  personal  service  and 
make  certain  payments  to  his  lord.  The  latter  in  his  turn, 
for  the  sake  of  protection,  commended  himself  to  a  more 
puissant  feudal  lord,  who  himself  stood  in  the  relation  of 
vassalage  to  a  suzerain,  to  the  king  or  emperor. 

All  the  members  of  the  feudal  hierarchy,  from  the  serf 
upwards  to  the  king  or  emperor,  were  bound  by  the  ties  of 
reciprocal  duties."  ^ 

'  Paul  Lafargue,  "The  Evolution  of  Property,"  English  Translation, 
London,  1894,  p.  79. 


SOCIALISM   AND   LAW  75 

Under  the  existing  conditions  of  the  times  the  class  of 
nobility  was,  therefore,  on  the  whole  a  socially  useful 
class. 

But  in  the  succeeding  centuries,  the  onward  march  of 
civilization  gradually  but  radically  changed  the  social 
conditions  of  Europe.  The  logical  trend  of  feudal  de- 
velopment led  to  ever  vaster  and  more  powerful  alliances 
based  on  a  hierarchy  of  power  and  duties,  to  political  con- 
centration and  ultimately  to  the  formation  of  monarchical 
states.  The  natural  effect  of  this  course  of  development 
was  to  limit  strife  and  warfare,  and  a  number  of  other 
causes  served  to  accelerate  that  process.  The  introduc- 
tion of  gunpowder  was  a  death  blow  to  knight  errantry, 
and  the  humanizing  influences  of  a  more  enlightened 
civilization,  ushered  in  by  the  period  of  the  Renaissance  as 
well  as  the  rise  of  commerce  and  industry,  destroyed  the 
very  foundation  upon  which  the  feudal  order  was  built. 

Feudal  society  was  broken  up,  and  the  dominant  class 
which  it  had  produced  was  deprived  of  all  its  useful  social 
functions.  But  not  of  its  power.  The  nobility  ceased  to 
render  service  to  the  community,  but  it  did  not  discard  the 
habit  of  levying  tribute  upon  it.  As  landowners,  courtiers, 
magistrates  and  high  dignitaries  of  church  and  state,  the 
noblemen  retained  themselves  in  power  for  centuries  after 
the  passing  of  feudal  society. 

But  in  the  course  of  those  centuries,  a  new  and  formi- 
dable rival  for  power  was  slowly  developing  in  the  bosom 
of  society  —  the  class  of  commercial  and  industrial  burgh- 
ers —  the  bourgeoisie. 

Manufacture,  which  in  the  earlier  stages  of  feudalism 
was  a  very  subordinate  occupation  confined  to  the  village, 
and  exercised  by  its  followers  as  a  sort  of  public  service  in 


'j6       THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

return  for  a  scant  living,  received  an  ever  larger  extension 
as  society  became  more  settled.  The  development  of 
village  markets  and  the  rise  of  towns  encouraged  inde- 
pendent production  of  commodities  and  stimulated  trade, 
which,  with  the  discovery  of  the  sea  route  to  India  and  the 
discovery  of  America,  received  a  new  and  larger  impulse. 
The  merchants'  and  manufacturers'  guilds  soon  became 
a  power  in  the  state,  and  the  town,  a  growing  factor  in 
the  political  life  of  the  nation. 

Henceforward,  the  history  of  Europe  is  the  history  of 
the  struggle  between  these  two  classes  for  political  su- 
premacy. The  titled  descendants  of  the  robber  barons 
of  every  country  unite  in  the  effort  to  maintain  their  in- 
herited social,  political  and  economic  ascendency,  and  to 
stem  the  threatening  tide  of  the  rising  power  of  the  churl- 
ish newcomers,  and  in  these  efforts  they  are  as  a  rule 
supported  by  the  Catholic  clergy,  whose  social  and  eco- 
nomic position  is  very  similar  to  their  own.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  rising  bourgeoisie  strives  everywhere  for  free- 
dom from  the  fetters  of  the  feudal  order,  which  impede 
its  movement  for  the  establishment  of  a  free  competitive 
international  market  of  commerce  and  manufacture. 

The  struggle  results  uniformly  in  the  victory  of  the 
young  and  vigorous  bourgeoisie  over  the  enfeebled  nobility. 
The  last  act  in  this  historical  drama  is  the  general  Euro- 
pean Revolution  which  formally  establishes  the  rule  of  the 
industrial  bourgeoisie  in  all  countries  of  Europe,  whether 
such  revolution  is  accomplished  with  little  bloodshed,  as  in 
Great  Britain  in  the  seventeenth  century,  or  by  spectacular 
acts  and  carnage,  as  in  France  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  or  by  a  slow  and  almost  imperceptible  process,  as 
in  Germany  towards  the  middle  of  the  last  century. 


SOCIALISM   AND   LAW  "JJ 

Such,  in  brief,  is  the  career  of  the  feudal  system,  and 
that  career  with  all  its  phases  of  development  and  strug- 
gles is  faithfully  portrayed  in  the  laws  of  the  period. 

The  formative  stages  of  the  feudal  order  are  not  con- 
ducive to  the  development  of  any  general  system  of  juris- 
prudence. Society  is  split  into  innumerable  separate  and 
very  loosely  connected  communities,  in  each  of  which  the 
arbitrary  will  of  the  feudal  lord  is  the  supreme  law.  The 
system  of  law  of  that  period  has  been  aptly  described  by 
Stubbs  as  "a  graduated  system  of  jurisprudence  based  on 
land  tenure,  in  which  every  lord  taxed  and  commanded 
the  class  next  below  him;  in  which  abject  slavery  formed 
the  lowest  and  irresponsible  tyranny  the  highest  grade; 
in  which  private  war,  private  coinage,  private  prisons, 
took  the  place  of  the  imperial  institutions  of  the  govern- 
ment." ^  The  legal  doctrine  that  the  sovereign  can  do  no 
wrong  and  the  more  modern  doctrine  of  the  immunity  of 
the  state  from  legal  process,  are  directly  traceable  to  that 
period  of  jurisprudence. 

The  succeeding  phase  of  feudalism,  with  its  hierarchic 
order  of  vassalage  and  the  graduated  system  of  reciprocal 
rights  and  duties,  finds  its  expression  in  the  law  of  prop- 
erty and  inheritance.  Land,  practically  the  sole  means 
of  existence  and  the  source  of  all  social  power,  is  not 
considered  private  property.  The  feudal  lord  holds  his 
land  and  enjoys  the  right  to  its  income  as  a  sort  of  trustee 
for  his  dependants;  his  title  to  the  land  is  not  one  in  fee 
simple,  or  absolute  ownership,  but  is  subject  to  the  superior 
rights  of  his  immediate  lord  as  well  as  to  the  numerous 
rights  and  easements  of  his  subjects.  The  absolute  legal 
title  to  all  the  land  vests  in  the  king  as  the  representative 

*  "Constitutional  History,"  pp.  255,  256. 


y?y       THE  SOCIALIST  PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

of  the  nation,  a  theory  which  has  left  very  distinct  traces 
in  the  present-day  legal  doctrme  of  the  right  of  Eminent 
Domain. 

The  feudal  lord  is  the  military  officer  in  command  of 
the  fief  or  manor,  and  that  office  upon  his  death  descends 
to  his  oldest  son,  together  with  the  duties  of  protection 
which  it  entails.  His  landownership  is  merely  an  inci- 
dent of  office  and,  therefore,  descends  to  his  oldest  son 
as  his  successor  in  office.  The  entailed  estates,  the  law  of 
intestacy  and  primogeniture  are  the  juridical  expression  of 
the  social  order  of  that  epoch  of  feudal  bloom. 

The  period  of  dissolution  of  feudal  society  with  its 
accompanying  struggles  between  the  landowning  noble 
class  and  the  industrial  class  are  written  in  large  letters 
in  the  legal  evolution  of  that  period  of  social  transition. 
The  downfall  of  feudalism  and  the  triumph  of  the  bour- 
geoisie are  signalized  by  the  removal  of  restrictions  upon 
the  alienation  of  land  and  freedom  of  trading,  the  intro- 
duction of  the  testament,  the  abolition  of  guilds  and  guild 
laws,  and  the  eradication  of  all  legal  privileges  of  nobility 
and  clergy. 

The  Modern  System  of  Law 

The  basis  of  modern  society  differs  from  that  of  the 
feudal  system  in  every  essential.  Under  feudalism,  as 
we  have  seen,  the  principal  pursuit  is  agriculture  and  the 
principal  form  of  wealth  is  landownership.  The  ownership 
of  land  is  the  basis  of  all  social  relations  and  political 
rights.  It  creates  the  hierarchy  of  rank,  the  feeling  of  ter- 
ritorial solidarity,  the  sense  of  communal  interest,  and  the 
spirit  of  conservatism  which  are  characteristic  of  that 
phase  of  civilization. 


SOCIALISM   AND   LAW  79 

Contemporary  society,  on  the  other  hand,  rests  mainly 
on  manufacture  and  trading.  The  wealth  of  modern 
nations  is  represented  principally  by  movable  objects  and 
commodities,  or  personal  property,  and  all  our  social  re- 
lations are  based  on  the  ownership  of  such  property. 

The  right  to  produce,  consume  and  dispose  of  all  com- 
modities at  will,  is  a  necessary  incident  of  their  full  en- 
joyment, hence  the  absolute  ownership  of  all  property, 
the  freedom  of  its  production  and  its  unrestricted  use, 
are  the  pillars  upon  which  all  modern  law  rests. 

Private  Property  and  its  logical  corollaries.  Competitive 
Industry  and  Individual  Liberty,  are  the  new  Trinity 
which  the  rule  of  the  bourgeoisie  has  established  in  modem 
civilization.  These  three  guiding  principles  find  their 
most  eloquent  and  finished  expression  in  the  American 
Declaration  of  Independence  and  the  French  Declaration 
of  Human  Rights,  the  two  instruments  framed  spon- 
taneously and  in  their  entirety  as  the  expression  of  violent 
political  revolutions;  they  animate  the  unwritten  con- 
stitution of  England  and  the  written  constitutions  of  all 
other  parliamentary  countries. 

Private  property  is  also  the  foundation  of  all  modern 
legislation,  for  all  modern  systems  of  law  are  principally 
designed  for  its  protection. 

"In  a  general  way,"  says  the  well-known  criminologist, 
Zerboglio,  "it  may  be  considered  as  an  established  fact 
that  the  foundation  and  objects  of  criminal  law  are  the 
preservation  and  the  defense  of  that  class  which  has 
constituted  the  modern  system  of  jurisprudence  for  the 
purpose  of  safeguarding  its  economic  power."  ^ 

*  A.  Zerboglio,  "Lutte  de  classe  dans  la  legislation,"  in  Le  Devenir 
Social,  1896,  p.  142. 


80       THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

"Offenses  against  property"  are  acts  committed  in  an 
endeavor  to  acquire  property  by  means  not  sanctioned  by 
law, —  crimes  committed  for  gain.  But  the  direct  offenses 
against  property  are  not  the  only  crimes  committed  from 
motives  of  gain.  The  overwhelming  majority  of  crimes 
against  the  person,  from  murder  in  the  first  degree  to 
simple  assault,  are  most  frequently  committed  with  the 
object  of  material  advantages:  if  they  are  not  crimes 
against  property  they  may  be  fitly  designated  as  crimes 
for  property. 

And  what  our  criminal  laws  conceal  and  disguise  to 
some  extent,  our  civil  laws  reveal  with  the  utmost  frank- 
ness; the  civil  codes  of  every  modern  nation  are  chiefly 
a  compilation  of  rules  governing  the  regulation  of  disputes 
over  property  rights  and  regulating  relations  of  property 
owners  between  themselves. 

"If  we  examine  any  ground  of  civil  action,"  remarks 
Mr.  Bax,  "we  shall  find  it  almost  always  turns  directly 
or  indirectly  on  a  question  of  property;  that  is,  on  what 
individual  shall  possess  certain  wealth  —  the  chances  be- 
ing invariably  on  the  side  of  the  wealthy  litigant."  * 

Except  for  its  protection  of  private  property  and  the 
principle  of  free  competition  as  instanced  by  the  anti-trust 
and  anti-monopoly  legislation,  the  general  policy  of  our 
modern  law  is  one  of  non-interference.  The  famous 
watchword,  "Laissez-faire,"  applies  to  bourgeois  laws  as 
well  as  to  bourgeois  economics. 

This  policy  is  based  on  the  assumption  of  equality  of 
all  citizens  and  their  ability  to  adjust  their  own  relations 
without  the  interference  of  the  state.     And  in  the  period 

'  Ernest  Belfort  Bax,  "The  Religion  of  Socialism,"  London,  1901, 
p.  147. 


SOCIALISM   AND   LAW  8 1 

of  inception  of  the  present  social  order  this  assumption 
was  not  entirely  unwarranted.  When  manufacture  was 
in  its  infancy,  and  was  carried  on  by  primitive  methods 
and  with  the  aid  of  simple  and  inexpensive  tools,  the  in- 
dustrial field  was  practically  free  to  all  artisans.  There 
were  no  fixed  lines  between  "capitalists"  and  "wage 
workers"  as  distinct  and  permanent  classes:  employer 
and  employee  met  on  terms  of  some  equality ;  their  rela- 
tions were  largely  created  by  voluntary  and  reciprocal 
contract.  But  with  the  development  of  the  complex  and 
expensive  modern  instruments  of  production,  these  instru- 
ments passed  into  the  hands  of  the  possessing  classes,  who 
thus  acquired  a  monopoly  of  the  modem  mdustrial  pro- 
cess, while  the  non-possessing  classes  were  reduced  to  the 
status  of  wage  workers. 

The  assumed  equality  of  all  men  thus  became  a  mere 
fiction,  at  least  as  far  as  the  economic  relations  of  the 
citizens  are  concerned,  and  all  social  legislation  based  on 
that  assumption  henceforward  had  the  effect  of  sanc- 
tioning the  power  of  the  strong  to  exploit  the  weak.  In  a 
society  of  economic  equals  the  law  might  properly  abstain 
from  interfering  with  the  industrial  relations  of  the  citi- 
zens, but  in  a  society  in  which  economic  supremacy  places 
one  class  of  citizens  in  an  artificial  position  of  advantage 
over  their  fellow-citizens,  the  office  of  just  legislation 
should  be  to  protect  the  weak  against  the  abuses  of  the 
strong.  The  failure  of  modern  law  to  afford  such  pro- 
tection to  the  workingmen  in  itself  shows  partiality  in 
the  interests  of  the  ruling  classes. 

"Upon  this  point,"  observes  Loria,  "a  comparison 
between  modern  and  mediaeval  law  is  enlightening. 
During  the  Middle  Ages,  when  capital  was  weak   and 


82        THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

labor  acquired  its  strength  from  the  existence  of  free  land, 
the  law  came  to  the  assistance  of  capital  by  regulating 
the  labor  contract  in  a  manner  hostile  to  the  laborer's 
interest.  In  our  times,  on  the  contrary,  when  capital  is 
strong  and  labor  is  deprived  of  its  liberty  of  action,  the 
law  amply  fulfills  its  office  of  guardian  of  property  by 
abstaining  from  regulating  the  wage  contract  at  all,  and 
leaving  it  to  the  dictation  of  capital."  ^ 

A  striking  instance  of  this  rule  is  to  be  found  in  the 
enactment  and  repeal  of  the  famous  English  "Statute  of 
Laborers."  The  epidemic  of  the  "black  death"  in  the 
middle  of  the  fourteenth  century  had  vastly  decreased 
the  supply  of  labor,  and  wages  were  going  up  rapidly. 
Parliament  passed  a  law  making  work  compulsory  on 
all  propertyless  persons  below  the  age  of  sixty  years  at 
wages  that  had  been  customary  in  the  year  1347,  i.e., 
before  the  plague,  and  this  law  with  a  number  of  successive 
amendments  and  variations  remained  in  force  until  the 
beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  when  the  develop- 
ment of  machinery  and  the  modern  processes  of  produc- 
tion had  created  a  superfluity  of  labor  and  a  ruinous  com- 
petition among  the  workers  themselves.  The  laws  fixing 
the  rate  of  wages  then  became  useless  and  embarrassing 
to  the  employing  classes,  and  were  speedily  repealed. 

But  the  wage  contract  is  not  the  only  instance  of  the 
disadvantage  of  the  workingmen  under  the  law  arising 
from  the  principle  of  non-interference.  Another  and  per- 
haps more  conspicuous  illustration  of  the  iniquitous  effect 
of  that  principle  is  to  be  found  in  the  employers'  liability 
laws  of  modern  nations,  particularly  the  nations  whose 

*  Achille  Loria,  "The  Economic  Foundations  of  Society,"  English 
Translation,  p.  104. 


SOCIALISM  AND   LAW  83 

systems  of  jurisprudence  are  based  on  the  Anglo-Saxon 
common  law.  The  doctrine  of  the  assumption  by  the 
workingman  of  the  "obvious  risks  of  employment,"  and 
his  inability  to  recover  damages  for  injuries  where  such 
injuries  were  caused  in  whole  or  in  part  by  his  "contribu- 
tory negligence"  or  by  the  negligence  of  a  "fellow-ser- 
vant," have  for  their  theoretical  basis  the  fiction  that  the 
modern  workingman  of  his  own  free  choice  determines 
how,  where  and  with  whom  he  shall  work.  The  practical 
effect  of  these  doctrines  is  that  in  most  cases  the  work- 
ingman remains  without  remedy  against  his  employer. 

The  fictitious  "equality  of  all  citizens  before  the  law" 
furthermore  favors  the  possessing  classes  as  against  the 
classes  of  non-possessors  in  matters  of  modern  legal  pro- 
cedure at  least  as  much  as  in  matters  of  substantial  law. 
The  fact  that  the  practice  of  law  is  a  business  pursuit  of 
the  private  practitioner  coupled  with  the  complicated,  tech- 
nical and  expensive  nature  of  litigation,  frequently  puts 
justice  beyond  the  reach  of  the  poor.  "The  law,"  ex- 
claims the  eminent  ItaHan  jurist  already  quoted,  "is  a 
monopoly  of  wealth,  and  in  the  temple  of  Themis  there 
is  no  place  reserved  for  the  laborer."  ^ 

Nor  is  the  character  of  modern  law  as  the  guardian  of 
the  possessing  classes  and  the  whip  of  the  poor,  evidenced 
by  its  passive  attitude  alone.  The  rigid  prohibitions 
against  labor  combinations  in  the  various  modern  coun- 
tries, the  strict  penalties  for  all  labor  interferences  with 
the  "rights"  of  the  employing  class,  and  the  severe  treat- 
ment by  the  courts  of  all  "transgressions"  of  workingmen 
in  their  struggles  against  their  employers,  furnish  eloquent 
proof  of  the  law's  positive  partiality  for  the  ruling  classes. 

'  Loria,  "Economic  Foundations  of  Society,"  p.  114. 


84       THE  SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 

Social  Legislation  and  Socialist  Jurisprudence 

As  the  feudal  regime  at  a  certain  stage  of  its  develop- 
ment became  burdensome  on  the  class  of  the  "  bourgeoisie" 
and  caused  them  to  revolt  against  that  regime,  so  has  the 
modern  industrial  order  become  burdensome  upon  the 
working  classes,  and  the  latter  already  show  symptoms  of 
revolt  against  it.  The  more  advanced  workingmen  of  all 
countries  begin  to  regard  the  economic  dependence  of 
their  class  and  the  privileged  position  of  the  employing 
classes  as  a  social  injustice.  They  feel  that  the  part  of 
the  toilers  in  the  process  of  production  entitles  them  to  a 
larger  share  of  the  national  product,  and  that  they  are 
despoiled  and  deprived  of  their  just  due  by  the  classes  in 
power.  They  demand  an  ever  greater  consideration  and 
protection  for  labor,  and  an  ever  larger  curtailment  of  the 
privileges  of  wealth. 

These  demands  of  the  workingmen  assume  for  them 
the  form  of  social  or  ethical  rights,  and  their  struggles  are 
struggles  to  realize  their  rights  as  laws.  The  character 
of  the  legislation  which  the  working  class  thus  advocates 
and  strives  for,  is  diametrically  opposed  to  all  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  modern  or  bourgeois  law.  It  is  based 
on  the  right  of  persons  instead  of  property  rights,  and  on 
social  regulation,  control  and  protection,  instead  of  the 
principles  of  free  competition  and  non-interference.  And 
as  the  working-class  movement  grows  in  strength,  intelli- 
gence and  determination,  the  ruling  classes  are  forced  to 
make  concessions  to  it,  either  by  way  of  granting  or  fore- 
stalling its  demands. 

This  is  the  secret  of  the  recent  reaction  against  the 
sacred  "laissez-faire"  principle  of  modern  law,  and  the 


SOCIALISM   AND    LAW  85 

source  of  all  "social  legislation"  of  the  last  few  decades. 
In  Germany,  social  legislation  was  inaugurated  at  a  time 
when  the  socialist  movement  had  demonstrated  that  it 
was  strong  enough  to  withstand  the  assault  of  the  anti- 
socialist  laws.  The  motive  of  the  government  in  intro- 
ducing such  legislation  was  revealed  by  the  Iron  Chan- 
cellor with  his  characteristic  frankness  in  the  following 
speech,  delivered  in  the  Imperial  Diet  in  1881 :  — 

"That  the  state  should  take  better  care  of  its  needy 
members  than  heretofore  is  not  only  a  dictate  of  humane- 
ness and  Christianity,  but  also  a  necessity  of  conservative 
politics  which  should  aim  to  cultivate  in  the  non-possessing 
classes  of  the  population,  who  are  at  the  same  time  the 
most  numerous  and  least  instructed,  the  view  that  the  state 
is  not  only  a  necessary  but  also  a  beneficent  institution. 
To  this  end  they  must  be  led  by  means  of  direct  advantages, 
derived  through  legislative  enactment,  to  consider  the 
state  not  as  an  institution  created  solely  for  the  protection 
of  the  possessing  classes,  but  as  one  serving  their  own 
needs  and  interests.  The  objection  that  such  legislation 
would  introduce  a  socialistic  element  must  not  deter  us 
from  our  course." 

In  France  the  first  social  legislation  was  introduced  by 
Napoleon  III  as  a  measure  intended  to  combat  the  grow- 
ing influence  of  the  International  Workingmen's  Associa- 
tion. In  England,  in  the  United  States  and  in  all  other 
modem  countries,  the  beginnings  of  systematic  "  factory 
legislation"  coincide,  broadly  speaking,  with  the  begin- 
nings of  the  organized  labor  movement,  and  its  extension 
keeps  pace  with  the  growth  of  the  labor  movement. 

The  current  of  social  legislation  takes  two  distinct 
directions,  one  being  designed  to  protect  the  workmen,  and 


86        THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

the  other  to  regulate  and  limit  the  power  of  industrial 
capitalism.  To  the  former  class  belong  the  laws  pro- 
viding for  workingmen's  insurance  in  case  of  sickness 
and  disability,  the  old-age  pension  laws,  and  the  large 
body  of  laws  popularly  known  as  Factory  Legislation, 
i.  e.,  laws  limiting  the  hours  of  labor  of  women  and  chil- 
dren, and  of  men  in  certain  lines  of  employment,  estab- 
lishing rules  for  the  health  and  safety  of  the  operatives  in 
mines,  mills,  factories  and  other  works,  extending  the 
liability  of  employers  for  injuries  sustained  by  their  work- 
men, regulating  the  payment  of  wages,  and  similar  meas- 
ures affecting  the  duties  of  employer  to  employed. 

In  the  second  class  of  legislation  must  be  counted  all 
laws  which  attempt  to  check  the  excessive  accumulation 
of  wealth  in  the  hands  of  private  individuals,  such  as  the 
income  and  inheritance  tax  laws,  and  laws  having  for  their 
object  the  control  and  regulation  of  certain  industries, 
such  as  railroading,  banking,  insurance,  etc. 

The  net  result  of  all  such  social  legislation  is  as  yet 
insignificant.  On  the  whole  it  has  had  no  great  effect 
in  improving  the  condition  of  the  poor  or  limiting  the 
power  of  the  wealthy.  But  the  importance  of  this  line 
of  legislation  lies  not  in  its  positive  achievements  as 
much  as  in  its  symptomatic  significance.  The  "social" 
laws  of  the  last  few  decades  mark  a  growing  change  in 
the  popular  conception  of  the  office  of  legislation  —  the 
approach  of  a  new  legal  system  expressive  of  a  new  social 
era.  For  the  forces  that  gave  birth  to  the  weak  rudiments 
of  social  legislation  are  still  at  work,  steadily  gaining  in 
extent  and  intensity.  The  struggles  of  the  organized 
workingmen  of  all  countries  for  a  fair  distribution  of  the 
national  wealth  and  for  equitable  social  relations  among 


SOCIALISM  AND   LAW  8/ 

all  men  are  finding  ever  stronger  support  among  all  classes 
of  the  population,  and  are  bound  to  continue.  The 
logical  end  of  all  legal  reforms  accompanying  these  strug- 
gles is  the  substitution  of  a  system  of  law  based  on 
the  principle  of  socialism  for  the  present  individualistic 
system. 

And  while  it  would  be  folly  to  attempt  at  this  time  a 
comprehensive  outline  of  a  socialist  system  of  law,  we 
have  sufficient  concrete  data  in  the  present  tendencies  of 
social  development  to  enable  us  to  indicate  the  funda- 
mental principles  and  general  aspect  of  that  proposed 
system  of  jurisprudence. 

A  socialist  society  is  one  based  on  the  system  of  public 
or  collective  ownership  of  the  material  instruments  of  pro- 
duction, democratic  administration  of  the  industries,  and 
cooperative  labor;  and  the  guiding  principle  of  such  so- 
ciety must  be  the  recognition  of  the  right  of  existence  and 
enjoyment  inherent  in  every  human  being. 

The  function  of  law  under  socialism  will  of  necessity 
be  to  insure  the  stability  of  these  principles  and  institu- 
tions, just  as  it  has  been  its  function  at  all  earlier  periods 
of  human  civilization  to  insure  the  stability  of  the  institu- 
tions of  such  periods.  But  in  a  socialist  society  the  func- 
tion of  law  will  be  largely  simplified  by  the  disappearance 
of  class  distinctions.  In  a  society  of  industrial  equals,  in 
which  the  material  interests  of  all  citizens  are  identical,  and 
the  interests  of  every  citizen  accord  with  those  of  the  state, 
the  motives  for  all  crimes  against  property  and  for  many 
crimes  against  the  person  are  removed,  and  with  their 
removal  disappears  the  necessity  of  legislating  against 
such  crimes,  while  the  abolition  of  private  competitive 
industry  and  trading  must  have  the  effect  of  eradicating 


88        THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND    MOVEMENT 

from  our  statute  books  the  major  part  of  all  our  civil  and 
commercial  laws. 

In  direct  opposition  to  the  modem  system  of  law,  which 
deals  largely  with  the  reciprocal  relations  and  private 
conduct  of  individual  citizens,  and  pays  but  scant  atten- 
tion to  the  industrial  Hfe  of  the  nation,  a  socialist  system 
of  jurisprudence  must  of  necessity  occupy  itself  primarily 
with  the  regulation  of  the  social  processes  of  wealth  pro- 
duction and  distribution,  and  Hmit  its  interference  with 
the  private  life  and  conduct  of  the  citizen  to  a  minimum. 


CHAPTER  V 

SOCIALISM   AND   THE   STATE 

Nature  and  Evolution  of  the  State 

One  of  the  most  interesting  theoretical  discussions  that 
ever  occupied  a  modem  political  parliament  was  that  con- 
ducted in  the  German  Diet  on  the  occasion  of  its  delibera- 
tions on  the  proposed  budget  of  1893.  I^  was  towards 
the  close  of  the  session ;  the  dissolution  of  the  Diet  was 
imminent,  and  the  Social  Democracy,  which  in  the  pre- 
vious elections  had  polled  close  to  one  and  a  half  million 
votes,  loomed  up  large  as  a  menacing  factor  in  the  com- 
ing elections.  By  common  accord  the  subject  under  im- 
mediate consideration  was  suspended,  the  debate  of  the 
Diet  was  made  the  pretext  for  an  electoral  campaign  and 
the  sole  topic  of  discussion  was  the  proposed  Socialist 
State.  It  was  a  battle  royal  which  lasted  three  consecu- 
tive days.  The  most  eloquent  speakers  of  all  anti-socialist 
parliamentary  parties  in  Germany  took  part  in  the  debate, 
mercilessly  criticising  the  socialist  aims  and  ideals,  and 
demolishing  the  structure  of  the  proposed  socialist  state 
as  they  conceived  it. 

When  the  turn  came  to  the  brilliant  socialist  leader, 
August  Bebel,  he  rather  nonplussed  his  colleagues  in  the 
Diet  by  the  somewhat  startling  declaration  that  the  phrase 
"SociaHst  State"  was  in  itself  an  absurdity,  and  that  a 
"state"  could  not  possibly  exist  under  a  socialist  order. 

89 


90       THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 

The  same  idea  is  expressed  by  Bebel  more  explicidy 
in  his  "Woman,"  where,  in  discussing  the  effects  of  the 
proposed  economic  reforms  of  socialism  on  the  political 
organization  of  society,  he  says :  — 

"The  state  organization  as  such  gradually  loses  its 
foundation.  The  state  is  the  organization  of  force  for 
the  maintenance  of  existing  relations  of  property  and 
social  rule.  But  as  the  relations  of  master  and  servant 
disappear  with  the  abolition  of  the  present  system  of 
property,  the  political  expression  of  the  relationship  ceases 
to  have  any  meaning.  The  state  expires  with  the  expira- 
tion of  the  ruling  class,  just  as  religion  expires  when  the 
belief  in  supernatural  beings  or  supernatural  reasoning 
ceases  to  exist.  Words  must  represent  ideas;  if  they 
lose  their  substance,  they  no  longer  correspond  to  any- 
thing." ' 

This  conception  of  the  state  is  by  no  means  peculiar 
to  Bebel.  It  has  been  expressed  by  many  socialist  think- 
ers of  prominence  before  and  after  him,  and  its  source  is 
to  be  found  in  the  following  passage  from  the  writings  of 
Frederick  Engels,  one  of  the  theoretical  founders  of 
modern  socialism :  — 

"  By  reducing  the  ever  greater  majority  of  the  population 
to  the  rank  of  proletarians,  the  capitalist  mode  of  pro- 
duction creates  the  power  which  is  compelled  to  bring 
about  this  social  transformation  under  penalty  of  its  own 
destruction.  By  forcing  the  conversion  of  the  large 
socialized  means  of  production  into  state  ownership,  it 
points  itself  the  way  towards  the  accomplishment  of  that 
transformation.     The  wage  workers  seize  the  powers  of 

'  August  Bebel,  "Woman  in  the  Past,  Present  and  Future,"  San 
Francisco,  1897,  p.  128. 


SOCIALISM   AND   THE   STATE  9 1 

the  state  and  provisionally  turn  the  means  of  production 
over  to  the  state.     But  with  this  act  they  aboHsh  their 
own   existence   as  proletarians,   and   with   this   act   they 
also  abolish  all  class  differences  and  class  antagonisms 
and  the  state  as  a  state.     Heretofore  society  was  based 
on  class  antagonisms  and  needed  a  '  state,'  i.e.,  an  organi- 
zation of  the  exploiting  classes  for  the  preservation  of  the 
existing  methods  of   production,  and    more    particularly 
for  the  purpose  of  forcibly  maintaining  the  exploited  classes 
in  the  condition  of  dependence  inherent  in  such  methods 
of  production  (slavery,  serfdom,  wage  labor).     The  state 
was  the  official  representative  of  the  whole  society ;  it  was 
its  union  in  a  visible  body,  but  only  inasmuch  as  it  was 
the  state  of  that  class  which  represented  to  it  the  entire 
society:  in  antiquity,  the  state  of  the  slave-owning  citizens ; 
in  the  Middle  Ages,  that  of  the  feudal  nobility;    in  our 
times,  that  of  the  bourgeoisie.     By  actually  becoming  the 
representative  of  the  whole  society,   the  state  becomes 
superfluous.     As  soon  as  there  is  no  longer  any  class  in 
society  to  be  held  in  subjection,  as  soon  as  the  class  rule 
and  the  struggle  for  existence  based  on  the  modern  an- 
archy in  production  are  removed,  and    with   them  also 
the   resultant    struggles   and   excesses,    there   is   nothing 
more  to  repress,  nothing  requiring  a  special  repressing 
power,  a  state.     The  first  act  in  which  the  state  appears 
as  the  representative  of  entire  society  —  the  seizure  of  the 
instruments  of  production  in  the  name  of  society  —  is  at 
the  same  time  its  last  independent  act  as  a  state.     The 
interference  of  the  state  with   social   relations  becomes 
superfluous  in  one  field  after  the  other,   and  the  state, 
as  it  were,  falls  asleep.     The  government  of  persons  is 
replaced  by  the  administration  of  thuigs  and  the  regula- 


92  THE  SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY  AND    MOVEMENT 

lion  of  the  process  of  production.  The  state  is  not  '  abol- 
ished/ it  dies  off.  The  phrase  of  the  'socialist  state' 
may  thus  be  judged  for  its  value  as  a  slogan  in  the  tem- 
porary propaganda  of  socialism,  and  for  its  scientific 
inefficiency."  ^ 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  socialist  writers  quoted  see 
in  the  state  a  social  institution  different  and  apart  from 
organized  society  as  such.  This  is  by  no  means  the 
prevalent  conception,  and  in  fact  there  seems  to  be  no 
fixed  and  generally  accepted  definition  of  the  term  in  the 
popular  or  scientific  literature  of  the  subject.  Few  ex- 
pressions are  used  so  vaguely  and  loosely  as  the  term 
"state."  A  large  number  of  authoritative  sociological 
writers  and  lexicographers  by  implication  consider  the 
state  as  a  term  synonymous  with  organized  society,  and 
expressly  define  it  in  that  sense.^ 

The  fault  of  all  such  definitions  is,  that  they  do  not 

•  Frederick  Engels,  "Herrn  Eugen  Duhring's  Umwalzung  der  Wis- 
senschaften,"  3d  Edition,  Stuttgart,  1894. 

*  "The  whole  body  of  the  people  united  under  one  government, what- 
ever may  be  the  form  of  the  government."  —  Webster's  Dictionary. 

"The  state  (x6Xis)  is  an  association  of  human  beings  —  and  the 
highest  form  of  human  association."  —  Aristotle. 

"The  state  (respublica)  is  the  creature  of  the  people,  the  people  united 
by  a  common  sense  of  right  and  by  a  community  of  interest."  —  Cicero. 

"The  state  is  organized  mankind."  —  JOHANN  K.  Bluntcshli  in 
"Lehre  vom  modernen  Staat." 

"The  state  is  an  assemblage  of  persons  united  under  the  same  gov- 
ernment." —  Turcot. 

"The  state  is  the  people  living  within  certain  geographical  limits. 
It  represents  a  body  of  people  having,  in  general,  like  sentiments,  feelings 
and  aims,  to  carry  out  which  they  originate  some  organic  law  which  pro- 
vides for  ministers  or  officers,  and  they  constitute  the  government,  which 
is  but  the  agent  of  the  people  in  executing  the  laws  they  have  ordained." 
—  Carroll  D.  Wright  in  "Outline  of  Practical  Sociology,"  New  York, 
1899,  pp.  88,  89. 


SOCIALISM  AND  THE  STATE  93 

define.  All  human  society  in  a  state  of  civilization  is  or- 
ganized, and  the  term  "organized  society"  applies  with 
equal  force  to  the  collectivity  of  contemporary  mankind  as 
to  each  separate  nation  or  community.  The  "state"  has 
a  more  limited  and  definite  significance,  and  is  more 
properly  defined  as  a  body  of  people  united  under  one 
political  government.^  That  the  distinction  is  not  a  mere 
scholastic  quibble,  but  a  very  material  and  weighty  dif- 
ferentiation, becomes  apparent  as  soon  as  we  attempt  to 
analyze  it.  Every  political  government  is  not  only  well 
defined  territorially,  but  it  also  has  certain  other  fixed 
and  essential  attributes:  it  must  be  based  on  a  constitu- 
tion or  on  the  will  of  an  individual  sovereign;  it  must  be 
supported  by  laws  that  can  be  enforced ;  it  must  have  the 
machinery  to  enforce  such  laws  and  the  power  to  raise 
revenue  for  the  maintenance  of  such  machinery;  it  must 
also  be  represented  by  a  person  or  class  of  persons  invested 

'  "A  political  community  organized  under  a  distinct  government, 
recognized  and  conformed  to  by  the  people  as  supreme."  —  Standard 
Dictionary. 

"When  a  number  of  persons  are  supposed  to  be  in  the  habit  of  paying 
obedience  to  a  person,  or  an  assemblage  of  persons  of  a  known  and  certain 
description,  such  persons  altogether  are  said  to  be  in  a  state  of  political 
society."  —  J.  Bentham  in  "A  Fragment  of  Government." 

"The  supreme  will  of  a  state,  in  whatever  mode  of  sovereignty  mani- 
fested, expresses  itself  and  achieves  its  ends  in  various  ways,  but  chiefly 
through  Government,  which  may  be  defined  as  the  requisition,  direction 
and  organization  of  obedience."  —  Franklin  H.  Giddings  in  "Read- 
ings in  Descriptive  and  Historical  Sociology." 

"The  state  is  an  aggregation  of  individuals  living  in  the  same  terri- 
tory under  the  government  of  one  supreme  power."  —  Anton  Menger 
in  "Neue  Staatslehre." 

"The  state  is  sovereign,  i.e.,  it  has  the  original,  absolute,  unlimited 
power  over  the  individual  subject  and  over  all  associations  of  subjects." 
—  J.  W.  Burgess  in  "Political  Science  and  Constitutional  Law,"  New 
York,  1900,  p.  4. 


94       THE  SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

with  the  powers  of  government.  In  short,  the  element 
of  repression  and  coercion  is  essential  to  the  existence  of 
every  state. 

"  When  the  political  community  is  regarded  as  '  society, ' " 
says  Mr.  Ball,  "it  is  looked  at  as  a  number  of  individuals 
or  classes  or  professions  —  as  an  aggregate  of  units. 
When  we  speak  of  the  'state,'  we  understand  a  single  per- 
sonality, as  it  were,  representing  all  these  interests  and 
endowed  with  force  which  it  can  exercise  against  any  one 
of  them.  In  other  words  '  the  state '  cannot  be  reduced  to 
'society'  or  to  'government,'  which  is  only  one  of  its  func- 
tions, but  is  society  organized  and  having  force."  ^ 

The  keen  French  economist  Leroy-Beaulieu  observes: 
"The  concrete  state,  as  we  see  it  at  work  in  all  countries, 
manifests,  as  an  organism,  two  essential  characteristics, 
which  it  always  possesses,  and  which,  moreover,  it  is  alone 
in  possessing;  the  power  of  imposing  by  methods  of  con- 
straint upon  all  the  inhabitants  of  a  territory  the  observ- 
ance of  certain  injunctions  known  by  the  name  of  laws 
or  administrative  regulations,  and  the  power  of  raising, 
also  by  methods  of  constraint,  from  the  inhabitants  of  that 
territory  large  sums  of  money  of  which  it  has  the  free  dis- 
posal. The  organism  of  the  state  is,  therefore,  essentially 
coercive;  the  constraint  it  exercises  takes  two  forms, 
the  one  of  laws,  the  other  of  taxes."  ^ 

Charles  Benoist  in  his  "Politique"^  states  the  same 
proposition  more  tersely  in  affirming  that  the  state  may  be 
recognized  by  two  signs;    it  makes  laws  and  levies  taxes. 

'  Sidney  Ball,  "The  Moral  Aspect  of  Socialism"  in  "Socialism  and 
Individualism,"  Fabian  Socialist  Series,  No.  3,  London,  1908,  pp.  75,  76. 

^  Paul  Leroy-Beaulieu,  "The  Modern  State,"  English  Translation, 
London,  iPgi,  p.  67. 

^  Quoted  by  Gabriel  Deville,  "The  State  and  Socialism." 


SOCIALISM   AND   THE   STATE  95 

If  we  enlarge  the  definition  somewhat,  and  say,  The  state 
makes  and  enforces  laws  and  levies  taxes,  we  have  men- 
tioned the  most  uniform  and  indispensable  functions  of 
every  state. 

But  the  enumeration  of  these  functions  alone  is  quite 
sufficient  to  convict  the  state  as  a  product  of  class  strug- 
gles. Law  as  distinguished  from  mere  custom,  law  in  the 
sense  of  a  positive  command  of  the  state  enforceable  by 
a  penalty,  has  its  inception  in  an  order  of  things  in  which 
it  is  already  in  the  interest  of  one  part  of  the  population 
to  act  in  a  manner  prejudicial  to  their  fellow-men,  and  in 
which  it  becomes  necessary  for  the  latter  to  restrain  the 
former  by  force.  Such  an  order  of  things,  however,  is 
only  possible  in  a  class  society.  Primitive  society  is  a 
society  of  economic  equals.  The  community  produces 
principally  articles  of  immediate  consumption,  and  that 
in  quantities  barely  sufficient  for  the  needs  of  its  members. 
There  is  no  opportunity  for  the  accumulation  of  private 
wealth,  there  are  no  rich  and  no  poor,  and  no  social  classes 
of  any  kind.  There  is  neither  motive  nor  chance  for  any 
man  to  covet  the  property  or  to  trespass  upon  the  "rights" 
of  his  neighbor,  anji  there  is  no  occasion  to  repress  such 
desires  by  force.  The  primitive  social  organizations,  the 
gentes  and  phratries,  have  no  laws  and  no  instruments  to 
enforce  laws.  Courts,  judges,  constables,  prisons  and 
police  are  entirely  unknown  to  them;  they  levy  no  taxes 
or  compulsory  tribute  on  their  members;  they  are  entirely 
free  from  the  element  of  coercion  —  they  are  not  states. 

It  is  only  when  the  productivity  of  human  labor  has  in- 
creased to  a  degree  beyond  that  required  for  the  satis- 
faction of  his  indispensable  personal  needs,  when  man  has 
become  a  possible  object  of  exploitation,  and  when  the  first 


96        THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

form  of  such  exploitation  has  been  introduced  in  the  in- 
stitution of  slavery,  it  is  only  then  that  repressive  laws  and 
organized  social  force  become  necessary. 

The  state  thus  appears  in  the  social  development  of 
mankind  simultaneously  with  the  institutions  of  private 
property  and  slavery  and  as  their  necessary  concomitant. 
In  its  original  form,  it  was  frankly  and  without  disguise 
the  organization  of  the  slave-owning  class  for  the  purpose 
of  maintaining  their  authority  over  their  slaves.  The 
slaves  themselves,  as  stated  in  the  preceding  chapter, 
were  not  members  of  the  state,  and  there  was  no  pretense 
that  the  state  was  "the  body  of  the  whole  people."  "The 
ancient  state,"  says  David  G.  Ritchie,  "existed  for  the 
citizen  and  not  for  the  unenfranchised  multitudes,  who 
were  mere  means  to  the  state's  existence  and  no  part  of 
the  state  itself.  The  Greek  state  existed  for  the  few; 
the  modern  state  professes  to  exist  for  all  —  and  may  do 
so  some  day  in  reality."  ^ 

With  the  gradual  change  of  economic  conditions  and 
social  relations,  the  state  has  steadily  modified  its  outward 
garb,  but  its  true  functions  and  inner  mechanism  have 
largely  remained  unchanged.  The  state  has  at  all  times 
been  the  instrument  of  the  possessing  classes;  its  chief 
function  has  always  been  to  maintain  the  existing  order,  i.e., 
the  supremacy  of  the  ruling  classes  and  the  dependence  of 
the  non-possessing  classes,  and  even  to-day  it  is  the  privi- 
lege of  the  classes  in  power  "to  make  laws  and  to  levy 
taxes,"  while  it  is  the  duty  of  the  poor  to  obey  the  laws 
and  to  pay  the  taxes. 

The  socialist  definition  of  the  state  as  an  organization  of 
the  ruling  classes  for  the  maintenance  of  the  exploited 
'  "The  Principle  of  State  Interference,"  London,  1902,  p.  101. 


SOCIALISM   AND  THE   STATE  97 

classes  in  a  condition  of  dependence,  is  thus  entirely  cor- 
rect in  substance. 

But  in  connection  with  this  definition  another  factor 
must  be  considered.  The  ruling  classes  of  every  period 
are  created  by  the  prevalent  economic  conditions  of  that 
period  and  they  change  with  the  change  in  these  conditions. 
The  slave-owning  class  was  superseded  in  history  by  the 
class  of  feudal  landlords,  and  the  latter  by  the  modern 
bourgeoisie,  and  with  the  accession  of  every  new  class  of 
rulers  the  character  and  constitution  of  the  state  assumed 
a  different  aspect.  These  changes  are  rarely  distinguish- 
able by  definite  lines  of  demarcation.  As  a  rule  they  take 
place  gradually  and  are  accompanied  by  protracted  and 
obstinate  struggles  between  the  declining  and  rising  classes, 
and  it  is  not  always  easy  to  determine  which  of  the  two 
contending  classes  is  the  ruling  class.  In  such  periods  of 
transition  the  state  reflects  the  indefinite  character  of  the 
social  and  economic  conditions,  and  while  in  the  main  it 
always  serves  the  interests  of  the  class  temporarily  in  power, 
it  frequently  makes  important  concessions  to  the  rebellious 
classes.  Thus  the  state  of  the  fourteenth  century  was  a 
feudal  state,  pure  and  simple,  without  any  admixture  of 
foreign  elements ;  but  the  state  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
while  still  feudal  in  its  main  characteristics,  already  pre- 
sented many  elements  of  bourgeois  power.  And  similarly, 
the  state  of  a  century  and  even  half  a  century  ago  was  an 
unalloyed  bourgeois  state,  while  the  present-day  state 
already  shows  deep  inroads  made  in  its  substance  and 
functions  by  the  rising  class  of  wage  workers. 

Under  the  pressure  of  the  socialist  and  labor  movement 
in  all  civilized  countries,  the  state  has  acquired  a  new  sig- 
nificance as  an  instrument  of  social  and  economic  reform. 

H 


98        THE  SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 

Such  reforms  have  already  demonstrated  the  ability  of 
the  state  to  curb  the  industrial  autocracy  of  the  ruling 
classes  and  to  protect  the  workers  from  excessive  exploi- 
tation by  their  employers. 

The  modern  state,  originally  the  tool  in  the  hands  of  the 
capitalist  class  for  the  exploitation  of  the  workers,  is  grad- 
ually coming  to  be  recognized  by  the  latter  as  a  most 
potent  instrument  for  the  modification  and  ultimate  aboli- 
tion of  the  capitalist  class  rule.  In  the  general  scheme 
of  socialism,  the  state  has,  therefore,  the  very  important 
mission  of  paving  the  way  for  the  transition  from  present 
conditions  to  socialism.  The  state  in  that  role  is  gener- 
ally styled  in  the  literature  of  socialism  the  "period  of 
transition,"  or  the  "transitional  state."  Beyond  it  lies  the 
pure  socialist  order. 

Does  that  order  still  admit  of  the  existence  of  a  state, 
or  must  the  state,  as  the  product  of  class  divisions  in  so- 
ciety, fall  with  the  disappearance  of  those  class  divisions 
as  asserted  by  Engels  and  his  followers  ? 

At  the  first  glance  the  proposition  seems  almost  axio- 
matic —  with  the  removal  of  the  cause,  the  effect  must  fail. 
But  on  closer  analysis  the  question  seems  by  no  means  free 
from  doubt.  A  social  institution  may  be  called  into  life 
by  certain  conditions  and  for  certain  purposes,  but  may 
gradually  adapt  itself  to  new  and  entirely  different  con- 
ditions and  purposes.  In  fact,  the  history  of  our  civiliza- 
tion is  replete  with  instances  of  social,  political,  religious 
and  legal  institutions  which  have  long  survived  their  origi- 
nal creating  causes,  and  in  an  altered  form  have  shown 
great  vitality  under  new  conditions.  The  modern  state 
exhibits  many  features  that  seem  to  indicate  just  such 
adaptability  and  vitality.    The  state,  which  came  into  being 


SOCIALISM   AND   THE   STATE  99 

solely  as  an  instrument  of  class  repression,  has  gradually, 
and  especially  within  the  last  centuries,  assumed  other 
important  social  functions,  functions  in  which  it  largely 
represents  society  as  a  whole,  and  not  any  particular  class 
of  it.  Instances  of  such  functions  of  the  modern  state 
may  be  found  in  the  system  of  public  education,  sanitary 
and  health  regulations,  and  in  the  institutions  of  police  and 
criminal  justice  to  the  extent  to  which  they  secure  the  per- 
sonal safety  and  security  of  all  citizens. 

It  is  true,  as  Menger  ^  observes,  that  these  functions  con- 
stitute but  a  very  small  part  of  the  activity  of  the  state, 
and  are  as  a  rule  relegated  to  its  subordinate  organs,  such 
as  municipalities,  etc. ;  but  it  is  equally  true  that  these  gen- 
erally useful  functions  are  claiming  and  receiving  ever 
greater  attention  from  the  state,  and  that  under  a  system 
of  socialism  they  are  certain  to  receive  an  immense  ex- 
tension. 

If  we  realize  that  the  socialist  commonwealth  must 
of  necessity  be  charged  with  the  direction,  regulation  or 
control  of  at  least  its  principal  industries,  and  with  the  care 
of  its  old  and  decrepit,  sick,  invalid  and  orphaned  mem- 
bers, we  shall  readily  see  that  the  socialist  organization  will 
have  to  be  something  more  than  a  mere  "administration 
of  things,"  —  it  will  in  all  likelihood  be  a  quite  definitely 
organized  society. 

But,  it  may  be  objected,  a  socialist  society  will  be  free 
from  the  element  of  coercion;  hence  it  will  not  be  a  state 
in  the  true  sense  of  the  term. 

Let  us  consider  this  objection. 

For  the  purposes  of  public  works,  health,  safety  and 
relief,  the  socialist  commonwealth  will  need  vast  material 

*  Anton  Menger,  "Neue  Staatslehre,"  2d  Edition,  Jena,  1904,  p.  2a 


100      THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND    MOVEMENT 

resources,  probably  more  than  the  modern  state,  and  these 
resources,  in  whatever  form  and  under  whatever  designa- 
tion, can  come  only  from  the  wealth-producing  members 
of  the  commonwealth  —  thus  there  must  be  a  direct  or 
indirect  tax  on  the  labor  or  income  of  the  citizen.  The 
collection  of  this  tax,  the  direction  of  the  industries  and 
the  regulation  of  the  relations  between  the  citizens,  will 
require  some  laws  and  some  rules  or  instruments  for  their 
enforcement;  hence  even  the  element  of  coercion  cannot 
be  entirely  absent  in  a  socialist  society,  at  least  not  as  far 
as  the  human  mind  can  at  present  conceive.  The  socialist 
society  as  conceived  by  modern  socialists  differs,  of  course, 
very  radically  from  the  modern  state  in  form  and  substance. 
It  is  not  a  class  state,  it  does  not  serve  any  part  of  the 
population  and  does  not  rule  any  other  part  of  the  popu- 
lation; it  represents  the  interests  of  the  entire  community, 
and  it  is  for  the  benefit  of  the  entire  community  that  it 
levies  taxes  and  makes  and  enforces  laws.  It  is  not  the 
slaveholding  state,  nor  the  feudal  state,  nor  the  state  of  the 
bourgeoisie,  —  it  is  a  socialist  state,  but  a  state  neverthe- 
less, and  since  little  or  nothing  can  be  gained  by  inventing  a 
new  term,  we  shall  hereafter  designate  the  proposed  or- 
ganized socialist  society  as  the  Socialist  State. 

The  Transitional  State 

Modern  socialists  recognize  that  social  institutions  are 
not  the  results  of  arbitrary  choice,  but  of  historical  growth. 
When  the  ever  working  forces  of  industrial  evolution  have 
created  new  economic  interests  and  social  relations,  the 
political  forms  of  society  must  be  modified  to  meet  these 
changes,  and  when  these  new  interests  and  relations  become 


SOCIALISM  AND  THE   STATE  10 1 

incompatible  with  the  very  basis  of  the  existing  social 
system,  that  system  is  bound  to  give  way  to  a  more  ade- 
quate order.  The  socialists  contend  that  the  present 
system  of  individual  ownership  in  the  large  and  social 
means  of  production,  and  the  system  of  industrial  com- 
petition based  on  such  individual  ownership,  have  become 
or  are  fast  becoming  incompatible  with  the  interests  of  an 
ever  growing  majority  of  the  population  and  with  the  prog- 
ress of  industry  itself.  They  perceive  a  tendency  in  the 
modern  industrial  development  towards  the  collective 
ownership  of  these  means  of  production  and  the  socializa- 
tion of  industries;  they  see  the  public  necessity  of  such 
transformation,  and  advocate  and  demand  its  accomplish- 
ment. 

That  is  the  whole  of  the  socialist  program,  and  it  is 
certainly  wide  enough.  The  transformation  of  the  means 
of  production  from  private  to  public  ownership  is  by  no 
means  a  simple  task.  It  is  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
the  possessing  classes,  the  owners  of  the  land,  the  mines, 
railroads  and  factories,  the  financiers  and  capitalists  of 
all  descriptions,  will  some  fine  day  voluntarily  surrender  all 
their  privileges  and  possessions  to  the  people,  nor  is  it 
likely  that  the  transformation  will  be  accomplished  by  one 
single  and  simple  decree  of  the  victorious  proletariat  all 
over  the  civilized  world.  More  likely  the  process  of  trans- 
formation will  be  complicated  and  diversified,  and  will  be 
marked  by  a  series  of  economic  and  social  reforms  and 
legislative  measures  tending  to  divest  the  ruling  classes 
of  their  monopolies,  privileges  and  advantages,  step  by 
step,  until  they  are  practically  shorn  of  the  power  to  ex- 
ploit their  fellow-men;  i.e.,  until  all  the  important  means 
of  production  have  passed  into  collective  ownership  and 


102     THE  SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 

all  the  principal  industries  are  reorganized  on  the  basis 
of  socialist  cooperation.  The  proposed  measures  that 
are  expected  to  effect  this  eventual  transformation  con- 
stitute the  "immediate"  or  "transitional"  demands  of  so- 
cialism, and  are  part  of  the  general  socialist  program,  each 
socialist  party  emphasizing  those  points  which  are  of  more 
immediate  importance  in  view  of  the  social  and  political 
conditions  of  its  own  country  at  any  given  time.  The 
measures  thus  most  generally  advocated  by  the  socialists 
are:  universal  suffrage  and  equal  political  rights  for 
men  and  women;  the  initiative,  referendum,  proportional 
representation  in  legislative  bodies,  and  the  right  of 
recall  of  representatives  by  their  constituents;  greater 
autonomy  for  the  municipalities  and  limitation  of  the 
powers  and  functions  of  the  central  government;  the 
abolition  of  standing  armies;  progressive  reduction  of  the 
hours  of  labor  and  increase  of  wages;  state  employment 
of  the  unemployed;  state  insurance  of  workingmen  in 
case  of  accidents  and  sickness ;  old  age  pensions  for  work- 
ingmen; state  provisions  for  all  orphans  and  invalids; 
abolition  of  all  indirect  taxes;  a  progressive  tax  on  prop- 
erty, income  and  inheritance;  municipal  ownership  of  all 
municipal  utilities;  state  or  national  ownership  of  all 
mines,  means  of  transportation  and  communication,  and 
of  all  industries  controlled  by  monopolies,  trusts  and 
combines,  and  the  gradual  assumption  by  the  munici- 
pality or  state  of  all  other  industries  as  soon  as  they  reach 
a  stage  where  they  become  susceptible  of  socialization. 

The  socialists,  of  course,  do  not  anticipate  that  these 
measures  will  in  all  cases  be  adopted  in  their  logical  order 
and  in  the  pristine  purity  of  their  original  conception  ac- 
cording to  program,  nor  that  they  will  be  realized  in  all 


SOCIALISM   AND  THE  STATE  I03 

countries  with  absolute  uniformity.  More  likely  the 
course  of  the  social  transformation  will  be  different  in  the 
different  countries,  slow  and  methodic  in  some,  rapid  and 
tempestuous  in  others,  according  to  the  historic  condi- 
tions, the  temperament  of  the  people  and  the  respective 
strength  and  intelligence  of  the  ruling  classes  and  the  prol- 
etariat in  each  case.  In  the  more  democratic  countries, 
especially  those  in  which  the  socialist  and  labor  movements 
constitute  important  political  and  social  factors,  the  neces- 
sary transitional  reforms,  or  at  least  a  large  part  of  them, 
may  be  gradually  conquered  through  the  direct  control 
by  the  proletariat  of  important  organs  of  the  state,  such 
as  municipalities  or  legislatures,  or  through  the  indirect 
influence  of  the  growing  labor  movement.  In  other 
countries  the  conquest  of  the  public  powers  by  the  working 
class  may  be  accomplished  by  a  violent  insurrection.  The 
wage  workers  may,  in  the  words  of  Engels,  "seize  the 
powers  of  the  state"  and  establish  a  temporary  "dictator- 
ship of  the  proletariat."  Thus  the  transition  from  the 
system  of' feudalism  to  the  present  order  was  accomplished 
radically  but  peacefully  in  England,  slowly  and  incom- 
pletely in  Germany,  rapidly  and  violently  in  France.  But 
violence  is  but  an  accident  of  the  social  revolution ;  it  is 
by  no  means  its  necessary  accompaniment,  and  it  has  no 
place  in  the  socialist  program. 

And  similarly  silent  is  the  socialist  program  on  the 
question  whether  the  gradual  expropriation  of  the  possess- 
ing classes  will  be  accomplished  by  a  process  of  confisca- 
tion or  by  the  method  of  compensation.  The  greater 
number  of  socialist  writers  incline  towards  the  latter 
assum.ption,  but  in  that  they  merely  express  their  individ- 
ual present  preferences.     Social  development,  and  espe- 


104     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

cially  social  revolutions,  are  not  in  the  habit  of  consulting 
cut  and  dried  theories  evolved  by  philosophers  of  past 
generations,  and  social  justice  is  more  frequently  a  ques- 
tion of  social  expediency  and  class  power.  The  French 
clergy  was  not  compensated  for  the  lands  taken  from  it 
by  the  bourgeois  revolution,  and  the  Russian  noblemen 
and  American  slave  owners  were  not  compensated  upon 
the  emancipation  of  their  serfs  and  chattel  slaves.  It  is 
not  unlikely  that  in  countries  in  which  the  social  transfor- 
mation will  be  accomplished  peacefully,  the  state  will  com- 
pensate the  expropriated  proprietors,  while  every  violent 
revolution  will  be  followed  by  confiscation.  The  socialists 
are  not  much  concerned  about  this  issue.  Their  aim  is 
the  establishment  of  a  state  in  which  exploitation  of  man 
by  man  shall  become  impossible,  and  when  private  wealth 
has  been  robbed  of  the  character  of  employing  and  ex- 
ploiting capital,  its  possession  by  a  number  of  individuals 
ceases  to  be  a  menacing  factor  in  a  socialist  state. 

The  "transitional  state"  thus  conceived  cannot  be 
bounded  by  fixed  lines  of  demarcation  either  in  its  incep- 
tion or  its  termination.  As  every  other  period  of  historical 
development,  it  is  bound  to  overlap  at  both  ends.  A 
number  of  municipalities  and  states  are  already  wholly 
or  partly  under  socialist  control.  Many  of  the  "transi- 
tional" reforms  of  socialism,  political  and  social,  have  al- 
ready been  realized  to  some  extent  in  the  countries  of  Eu- 
rope, America  and  Australia,  and  the  conceded  tendency 
of  all  modern  legislation  is  toward  the  extension  of  such 
reforms.  In  this  sense  it  may  well  be  said  that  we  are  in 
the  midst,  or  at  any  rate  at  the  beginning,  of  the  socialist 
"  transitional  state,"  although  it  would  be  impossible  for  us 
to  say  just  when  wc  entered  it.     And  similarly  difficult  is 


SOCIALISM   AND   THE   STATE  105 

it  to  fix  the  line  between  the  so-called  transitional  state  and 
the  socialist  state  proper.  Theoretically,  the  reign  of 
pure  socialism  begins  after  the  entire  socialist  program 
has  been  materialized  and  society  has  been  reorganized 
entirely  on  the  basis  of  cooperative  production.  But  in 
reality,  social  ideals  are  rarely  realized  in  perfect  form, 
and  just  as  the  period  of  feudalism  has  left  remnants  of 
its  institutions  in  a  later  order,  and  in  some  cases  down 
to  the  present  day,  so,  in  all  likelihood,  many  features  of 
our  present  individualist  order  will  long  survive  in  a  state, 
substantially  and  preponderatingly  socialistic. 

The  Socialist  State 

The  transition  from  the  present  order  of  individual 
wealth  and  competitive  industry  to  a  system  of  collective 
ownership  and  cooperative  production,  by  whatever  means 
and  in  whatever  manner  accomplished,  is  bound  to  be 
accompanied  by  very  thoroughgoing  changes  in  all  rela- 
tions of  men,  and  by  a  decided  remodeling  of  the  entire 
social  and  political  structure  of  society.  These  proposed 
changes,  with  the  probable  constitution,  construction  and 
workings  of  the  "socialist  state,"  have  always  offered  an 
exceptionally  fertile  field  for  speculation. 

The  modern  socialist  movement  made  its  first  appear- 
ance towards  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  and  the  beginning 
of  the  nineteenth  centuries,  and  its  philosophy  was  largely 
influenced  by  the  general  ideological  conceptions  of  that 
time.  The  first  apostles  of  the  new  creed  believed  with 
their  contemporaries  that  political  and  social  institutions 
could  be  arbitrarily  devised,  tried,  chosen,  cast  away, 
and  substituted  by  others.  They  regarded  the  evils  and 
shortcomings  of  modern  society  as  flaws  in  the  social  struc- 


I06     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

ture,  due  to  the  carelessness  of  the  "founders"  of  that 
society,  and  saw  the  remedy  for  these  evils  in  the  simple 
expedient  of  constructing  a  new  society  on  a  more  rational 
and  equitable  plan.  The  early  socialist  literature  is, 
therefore,  replete  with  detailed  and  minute  descriptions 
of  proposed  social  organizations  wherein  universal  brother- 
hood is  the  rule,  bliss  and  prosperity  are  the  heritage  of 
all,  and  justice  reigns  supreme.  And  as  the  authors  of 
these  social  Utopias  were  not  bound  by  material  impedi- 
ments and  freely  drew  upon  their  fertile  imaginations,  their 
schemes  are  more  or  less  realistic  or  fantastic  according 
to  their  individual  temperaments  and  bent  of  mind.  The 
most  noteworthy  representatives  of  this  early  school  of 
socialism  are  Morelly,  Gabriel  Mably,  Charles  Fourier, 
Etienne  Cabet,  Robert  Owen  and  Wilhelm  Weitling. 

But  the  detailed  painting  of  the  society  of  the  future 
or  the  "socialist  state"  is  by  no  means  confined  to  the 
pioneers  of  modern  socialist  thought.  The  temptation  to 
evolve  a  ready  and  complete  scheme  of  a  new  social  order, 
based  on  socialism,  for  the  purpose  of  proving  or  refuting 
the  "feasibility"  of  the  socialist  ideal  is  so  great,  that 
socialists  and  anti-socialists  alike  still  very  frequently 
resort  to  that  expedient.  Conspicuous  instances  of  such 
society  builders  on  the  socialist  side  are  Edward  Bellamy 
("Looking  Backward"),  William  Morris  ("News  from 
Nowhere")  and  Laurence  Gronlund  ("Cooperative  Com- 
monwealth"); while  the  opposite  side  is  ably  represented 
by  the  merciless  destroyers  of  the  "socialist  state"  of  the 
types  of  Eugen  Richter  ("  Sozialdemokratische  Zukunfts- 
bilder"),  William  Graham  ("Socialism  Old  and  New"), 
Victor  Cathrein  ("Socialism:  Its  Theoretical  Basis  and 
Practical    Application"),    and    those   latest   valiant   con- 


SOCIALISM  AND  THE  STATE  10/ 

querors  of  the  Socialist  Dragon,  David  M.  Parry 
("The  Scarlet  Empire")  and  W.  H.  Mallock.  Nor  can 
it  be  said  that  the  drawing  of  such  detailed  descriptions 
of  imaginary  forms  and  workings  of  a  socialist  society  is 
altogether  a  waste  of  time ;  such  pictures  are  not  without 
usefulness  as  food  for  reflection  and  interesting  speculation, 
and  some  of  them  no  doubt  contain  sparks  of  true  genius 
which  may  perhaps  even  find  practical  application  in  times 
to  come.  But  all  such  descriptions  are  nevertheless  mere 
guesses  for  which  none  but  their  authors  are  responsible; 
they  are  not  part  of  the  generally  accepted  socialist  pro- 
gram or  philosophy. 

"Never,"  said  the  veteran  leader  of  the  German  Social 
Democracy,  Wilhelm  Liebknecht,  on  the  occasion  of  the 
debate  in  the  Diet  already  alluded  to,  "never  has  our  party 
told  the  workingmen  about  a  'state  of  the  future,'  never 
in  any  way  other  than  as  a  mere  Utopia.  If  anybody  says : 
I  picture  to  myself  society  after  our  program  has  been 
realized,  after  wage  labor  has  been  abolished  and  the  ex- 
ploitation of  men  has  ceased,  in  such  or  such  a  manner, 
well  and  good ;  ideas  are  free,  and  everybody  may  conceive 
the  socialist  state  as  he  pleases.  Whoever  believes  in  it, 
may  do  so,  whoever  does  not,  need  not.  These  pictures 
are  but  dreams,  and  social  democracy  has  never  under- 
stood them  otherwise." 

And  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  any  forecast  of  future  con- 
ditions could  be  much  more  than  a  dream.  If  we  look 
back  from  the  pinnacles  of  the  twentieth  century  to  con- 
ditions of  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  we  shall 
be  astounded  at  the  unprecedented  radical  revolution 
accomplished  within  the  last  hundred  years  in  all  domains 
of  our  social,  political  and  industrial  life.    The  old  pur- 


I08     THE  SOCIALIST  PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 

suits,  habits  and  views  of  our  fathers  have  been  mercilessly 
cast  aside.  New  fields  of  endeavor  have  been  explored, 
new  truths  discovered,  new  relations  established,  new  worlds 
created.  The  globe  has  a  vastly  different  aspect  from 
that  of  a  hundred  years  ago,  and  the  nations  that  people 
it  are  vastly  different  beings.  The  modern  man  differs 
in  all  his  habits  and  mode  of  life  from  his  forefathers  of 
but  a  few  generations  ago. 

It  will  not  be  seriously  contended  that  these  present  con- 
ditions could  have  been  more  or  less  accurately  forecast 
and  divined  at  the  beginning  of  the  present  regime  even  by 
the  most  sagacious  and  best-informed  social  philosopher. 
For  even  if  such  a  philosopher  could  reckon  with  the  prob- 
able development  of  the  forces  then  existing,  he  could  cer- 
tainly not  take  into  account  the  tremendous  effect  of  the 
new  discoveries  and  inventions  since  made,  the  applica- 
tion of  steam  and  electricity  in  the  industrial  processes, 
the  introduction  of  the  railroads,  steamships,  telegraphs, 
telephones,  and  the  countless  modern  machines  and  con- 
trivances which  have  served  to  revolutionize  our  entire 
system  of  production  and  communication  and  with  it 
all  our  habits  of  life  and  thought.  To  the  placid  and 
rational  philosopher  of  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  an  account  of  our  present  civilization  would  have 
been  a  much  wilder  and  more  incredible  dream  than  the 
most  fantastic  socialist  Utopia  seems  to-day  to  our  wise 
bourgeois  philosopher. 

And  still  the  task  of  the  man  who  might  have  assumed 
a  century  ago  to  forecast  present  conditions  would  have 
been  mere  child's  play  in  comparison  with  that  of  the 
dreamer  who  undertakes  to-day  to  descril^e  the  details 
of  the  life  and  organization  of  the  "socialist  state." 


SOaALISM   AND   THE   STATE  109 

The  forces  of  industrial  development  have  by  no  means 
reached  their  zenith,  they  are  still  multiplying  and  multi- 
plying in  an  ever  accelerating  ratio.  The  wider  the  basis 
of  existing  industrial  forces,  the  greater  the  rate  of  economic 
progress ;  this  is  the  simple  working  of  the  theory  of  geo- 
metrical progression  as  daily  demonstrated  in  our  indus- 
trial life.  The  last  fifty  years  have  witnessed  more  indus- 
trial progress  than  the  three  centuries  preceding  them,  and 
the  coming  fifty  years  will  perhaps  eclipse  the  last  five 
hundred  years. 

The  task  of  the  would-be  socialist  forecaster  is  besides 
greatly  complicated  by  another  element.  The  develop- 
ments of  the  last  century,  immense  and  radical  as  they  have 
been,  have  not  very  materially  affected  the  basic  principles 
of  modern  industrial  organization.  But  the  industrial 
development  of  the  future,  as  conceived  by  socialists,  will 
consist  not  only  in  the  natural  increase  and  multiplication 
of  the  productive  forces,  but  also  in  a  radical  reorganiza- 
tion of  the  methods  of  production  and  distribution,  and  the 
resultant  changes  must  thus  of  necessity  be  more  thorough- 
going and  less  calculable. 

And  finally,  all  speculation  on  the  nature  and  aspect  of 
the  socialist  state  suffers  from  another  inherent  weakness. 
They  tacitly  assume  that  the  "socialist  state"  is  a  fixed 
and  definite  phase  of  social  development,  whereas  in  fact 
it  is  anything  but  that.  Socialism  stands  for  an  order  of 
society  in  which  private  ownership  in  the  means  of  produc- 
tion has  substantially  given  way  to  a  system  of  collective 
ownership.  Such  an  order  of  things  may  quite  conceiv- 
ably be  established  in  some  of  the  most  progressive  coun- 
tries in  a  short  time,  say  within  twenty-five  years  —  our 
era  is  one  of  rapid  developments.     Such  a  country  would  in 


no     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

that  case  quite  properly  claim  the  designation  of  a  "so- 
cialist state."  But  with  the  establishment  of  socialism, 
the  general  progress  of  that  country  would  not  halt,  and 
the  succeeding  centuries  would  continue  to  change  its 
institutions,  life  and  customs.  The  socialist  state  in  its 
maturity  will  be  an  entirely  different  organization  from  the 
socialist  state  in  its  infancy,  and  similarly  the  socialist 
organization  of  one  country  may  be  radically  different 
from  that  of  the  other,  and  still  the  social  prophet  must 
have  in  mind  a  fixed  and  uniform  "socialist  state." 

Modern  socialists  indulge  but  little  in  fantastic  fore- 
casts of  the  future  order  of  things;  they  fully  realize  the 
general  futility  of  such  speculations  for  the  practical  purposes 
of  the  socialist  movement.  The  socialist  criticism  is  directed 
against  existing  evils,  the  socialist  program  is  a  program  of 
immediate  relief,  and  the  socialist  demands  are  made  on  the 
present  state.  The  socialists  are  concerned  only  with  the 
immediate  effects  of  their  proposed  measures  on  the  welfare 
of  the  present  population,  and  if  they  venture  at  all  to  inquire 
into  the  future,  they  limit  their  inquiries  entirely  to  such 
immediate  effects,  to  conditions  "on  the  day  after  the 
revolution."  Such  inquiries  are  very  useful  as  serving  to 
illustrate  the  constructive  sides  of  the  socialist  philosophy. 

Much  valuable  work  on  such  lines  has  recently  been  done 
by  Karl  Kautsky  ("The  Social  Revolution,"  Second  Part), 
and  Anton  Menger  ("Neue  Staatslehre"),  and  very  cred- 
itable attempts  in  the  same  direction  have  also  been  made 
by  Annie  Besant  and  G.  Bernard  Shaw  (in  the  "Fabian 
Essays"),  Oswald  Koehler  ("Der  Sozialdemokratische 
Staat"),  B.  Malon  (in  "Precis  de  Socialisme"),  and  the 
American  writer,  John  Spargo  ("Socialism").  And  as 
the  socialist  movement  gains  in  power  and  the  socialist 


SOCIALISM  AND  THE  STATE  HI 

ideal  becomes  more  realistic,  the  socialist  thinkers  are 
bound  to  bestow  greater  and  more  serious  attention  to  the 
elaboration  of  that  feature  of  their  philosophy. 

The  great  distinction  between  the  works  of  these  con- 
temporary socialist  writers  and  their  Utopian  precursors 
is,  that  while  the  latter  based  their  speculations  on  an 
entirely  arbitrary  conception  of  an  ideal  state,  the  former 
take  for  their  starting  point  the  present  actual  state.  They 
realize  that  the  so-called  "socialist  state,"  as  far  as  we  can 
conceive  it  to-day,  is  nothing  but  the  present  state  with 
such  modifications  as  the  realization  of  the  proposed  so- 
cialist reforms  naturally  and  necessarily  imply,  and  their 
forecast  is  but  an  analysis  of  such  probable  changes.  But 
with  all  this  candor  and  caution  it  is  still  impossible  to 
arrive  at  scientific  and  indisputable  conclusions  as  to  con- 
ditions of  even  the  immediate  future.  The  conclusions 
of  each  author  are  bound  to  contain  some  element  of  spec- 
ulation and  to  reflect  to  a  large  extent  his  individual  views 
and  inclinations.  It  is  in  that  spirit  and  with  that  under- 
standing that  the  following  chapters  are  offered. 

Production  and  Distribution  of  Wealth   Under  Socialism 

The  organization  of  wealth  production  under  socialism 
offers  but  little  difficulty.  The  prevalent  methods  of  pro- 
duction, as  indicated  in  a  previous  chapter,  have  already 
become  largely  social  in  many  important  industries. 

In  the  modem  corporations,  trusts  and  other  combines, 
the  capitalists  have  created  industrial  organizations  very 
much  akin  to  the  socialist  ideal,  and  have  demonstrated 
the  feasibility  and  advantages  of  cooperative  and  planful 
production  on  a  large  scale.     By  the  simple  process  of 


112     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND    MOVEMENT 

combining  the  greater  number  of  plants  in  a  given  industry 
under  one  head,  discarding  the  less  efficient  of  them  and 
strengthening  the  more  important,  the  trusts  have  largely 
eliminated  the  element  of  waste  in  production;  and  by 
consolidating  the  management  and  supervision  of  the  work, 
and  perfecting  the  specialization  and  division  of  labor, 
they  have  vastly  increased  the  productivity  of  the  latter. 
The  state,  with  its  larger  powers  and  resources,  will  be  able 
to  increase  the  advantages  of  trustified  production  very 
considerably. 

But  a  socialist  regime,  once  having  assumed  the  admin- 
istration of  the  trusts,  will  be  bound  to  change  the  nature 
and  to  extend  the  benefits  of  these  institutions  still  further. 
The  modern  trusts,  while  social  in  their  methods  of  work, 
are  not  public,  but  private  institutions,  and  are  operated 
entirely  for  the  benefit  of  their  individual  owners. 

It  is  not  in  the  interests  of  the  individual  trust  magnates 
to  extend  production  beyond  the  limits  of  the  present  de- 
mand; the  general  purchasing  power  of  the  consumers 
remaining  unchanged,  such  an  increased  output  could  only 
result  in  a  decline  of  prices.  The  policy  of  the  trusts  is, 
therefore,  on  the  whole,  to  limit  production.  A  social- 
ist administration,  on  the  other  hand,  has  a  vital  interest 
in  extending  production  in  order  to  enhance  the  national 
wealth  and  to  provide  employment  for  a  larger  number 
of  its  members.  Since  it  is  not  producing  for  profit,  the 
effect  of  an  increased  output  on  the  price  of  the  commodity 
will  not  enter  in  its  calculations,  and  since  the  purchasing 
power  of  the  population  will  be  increased  in  proportion 
to  the  growth  of  productivity,  there  will  be  no  danger  of  an 
industrial  crisis. 

The  members  of  a  socialist  state,  furthermore,  will  be 


SOCIALISM   AND  THE   STATE  1 13 

interested  in  such  trustified  industries  not  only  as  con- 
sumers, but  also  as  employees,  and  hence  they  will  naturally 
introduce  such  reforms  in  the  management  of  these  indus- 
tries as  will  benefit  them  in  the  latter  capacity.  Under 
capitalism  the  greater  productivity  of  labor  in  trustified 
industries  is  accompanied  by  loss  of  work  for  large  portions 
of  former  employees.  Under  socialism  it  will  necessarily 
lead  to  a  progressive  diminution  of  their  hours  of  labor. 
Under  capitalism  the  profits  of  the  trust  magnates  are  the 
sole  aim  and  motive  of  production,  and  the  safety  and  wel- 
fare of  their  employees  are  of  but  secondary  importance. 
Under  socialism  production  will  be  carried  on  principally 
for  the  benefit  of  the  producers  themselves,  and  it  is  rea- 
sonable to  expect  that  every  known  device  will  be  applied 
to  make  industry  safe,  pleasant  and  attractive. 

The  modern  trusts,  thus  transformed  into  cooperative 
enterprises  on  a  large  scale,  will  in  all  likelihood  become 
the  starting  point  of  the  socialist  system  of  industrial 
organization,  and  the  system  will  be  extended  from  one 
industry  to  the  other  as  fast  as  the  conditions  will  permit. 
But  this  will  probably  not  be,  at  least  for  a  long  time  to 
come,  the  exclusive  form  of  industrial  organization.  There 
are  certain  industries  dependent  on  purely  personal  skill, 
such  as  the  various  arts  and  crafts,  that  from  their  very 
nature  are  not  susceptible  of  socialization,  and  other  indus- 
tries, such  as  small  farming,  that  will,  at  least  for  many  years 
to  come,  not  be  proper  objects  for  socialization.  These 
may  continue  to  exist  in  a  socialist  society  as  individual 
enterprises  side  by  side  with  the  larger  cooperative  works. 

On  the  whole,  however,  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  by  far 
the  greater  and  most  important  part  of  wealth  production 
will  be  conducted  by  cooperative  establishments.     In  the 


114     THE   SOCIALIST    PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 

countries  of  the  most  advanced  industrial  development, 
the  large  plants  employ  even  to-day  the  greater  part 
of  the  v^age-working  population,  and  there  are  but  few 
important  industries  that  are  not  ripe  for  concentration 
and  consolidation.  And  since  the  large  cooperative 
establishments,  with  their  natural  economies  and  advan- 
tages, will  hold  out  greater  attractions  to  the  workers 
than  the  majority  of  the  small  individual  enterprises,  there 
will  probably  be  but  few  who  will  choose  to  remain  outside 
of  the  prevalent  industrial  organization. 

The  rational  organization  of  labor,  the  elimination  of 
duplicate  plants,  of  the  "middlemen"  in  industry  and 
commerce  and  of  other  waste  entailed  in  a  system  of  com- 
petition, the  disappearance  of  all  workless  "incomes"  and 
of  all  the  purely  parasitic  types  who  are  to-day  maintained 
and  supported  by  the  competitive  system  or  maintained 
for  the  special  interests  and  comforts  of  the  ruling  and 
leisure  classes,  —  all  these  changes  necessarily  involved  in 
a  system  of  socialism,  will  increase  the  productive  forces  of 
society  and  augment  the  national  wealth  immensely. 

How  will  that  wealth  be  distributed  ?  With  this  ques- 
tion we  have  approached  what  is  considered  as  the  cru- 
cial point  of  socialism  by  the  opponents  of  that  philoso- 
phy. The  impracticability  or  impossibility  of  the  "social- 
ist scheme  of  wealth  distribution"  is  the  burden  of  most 
of  the  "scientific"  refutations  of  the  socialist  theory,  and 
curiously  enough  most  of  these  criticisms  are  based  on  a 
careless  reading  of  the  great  theoretician  of  modern 
socialism,  Karl  Marx. 

In  common  with  Smith,  Ricardo  and  other  representa- 
tives of  the  classical  school  of  political  economy,  Marx 
holds  that  the  value  of  a  commodity  is  determined  by  the 


SOCIALISM  AND  THE   STATE  I15 

labor  time  expended  in  its  production,  the  labor  time  in 
question  being  defined  as  "the  labor  time  socially  neces- 
sary to  produce  an  article  under  the  normal  conditions 
of  production  with  the  average  degree  of  skill  and  intensity 
prevalent  at  that  time,"  ^  This  simple  statement  of  fact 
has  been  almost  uniformly  interpreted  by  the  astute  critics 
of  Marx  as  the  socialist  "plan  of  distribution,"  and  many 
valuable  reams  of  paper  have  been  consumed  in  ingenious 
objections  to  that  plan.' 

In  fact,  however,  Marx  occupied  himself  just  as  little 
with  the  distribution  of  wealth  in  a  future  socialist  state 
of  society  as  Darwin  occupied  himself  with  the  ultimate 
physical  type  of  man.  As  a  true  man  of  science,  he  limited 
his  researches  to  the  past  developments  and  existing  facts 
and  tendencies.  In  formulating  the  labor  theory  of  value, 
Marx  simply  stated  a  fact,  a  law  applicable  to  the  present 
system  of  producing  wealth  —  nothing  else. 

"Marx,"  says  Frederick  Engels,  his  foremost  inter- 
preter, "deals  only  with  the  determination  of  the  value 
of  commodities,  that  is  to  say,  with  the  value  of 
articles  which  are  produced  in  a  society  consisting  of 
private  producers,  by  each  private  producer  for  his  indi- 
vidual account  and  for  the  purpose  of  exchange.  This 
value  in  its  definite  historic  meaning  is  created  and  meas- 
ured by  human  labor  embodied  in  the  separate  com- 
modities. ...  It  is  this  simple  fact,  daily  enacted  before 
bur  own  eyes  in  the  modern  capitalist  society,  which  Marx 
states.  .  .  .     Whatever  other  values  may  be  mentioned, 

^  Karl  Marx,  "Capital,"  English  Edition,  Vol.  I,  p.  11. 

^  See  William  Graham,  "Socialism  New  and  Old";  Victor  Cathrein, 
"Socialism:  Its  Theoretical  Basis  and  Practical  Application";  Schaeffle, 
"Quintessence  of  Socialism." 


Il6     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

this  much  is  certain,  that  Marx  is  not  concerned  with  these 
things,  but  only  with  the  value  of  commodities ;  and  that  in 
the  whole  chapter  on  Value  in  his  'Capital'  there  is  not  the 
slightest  hint  whether  and  to  what  extent  this  theory  of 
value  is  applicable  to  other  forms  of  society.'"  ^ 

And  Karl  Kautsky  adds :  — • 

"There  could  be  no  greater  error  than  to  consider  that 
one  of  the  tasks  of  a  socialist  society  is  to  see  to  it  that 
the  law  of  value  is  brought  into  perfect  operation,  and  that 
only  equivalent  values  are  exchanged.  The  law  of  value 
is  rather  a  law  peculiar  to  a  society  of  producers  for  ex- 
change."^ 

But  what  then,  may  be  asked,  is  the  socialist  plan  of 
distribution  of  wealth? 

The  plain  answer  to  this  inquiry  is:  The  socialists 
do  not  offer  a  cut  and  dried  plan  of  wealth  distribution. 

As  a  proposition  of  abstract  justice  and  fairness  there 
is  no  reason  why  any  discrimination  at  all  should  be  made 
in  the  distribution  of  the  necessaries  and  material  comforts 
of  life  between  the  members  of  the  community.  The  in- 
creased productivity  of  labor  and  the  consequent  augmenta- 
tion of  wealth  are  due  to  the  concerted  efforts  of  men  in  all 
fields  of  endeavor,  physical  and  mental,  in  generations 
past  as  well  as  present,  and  the  precise  share  of  each  in- 
dividual in  the  general  wealth  of  the  nation  is  altogether 
insusceptible  of  measurement. 

It  must  be  granted  that  some  individuals  are  stronger, 
wiser,  more  gifted  and  skillful  than  others.  But  what  of 
that?     Is   there    any    moral    ground   for    punishing   the 

1  "Herrn  Eugen  Diihring's  Umwalzung  der  Wissenschaften,"  pp.  209, 
210. 

^  Karl  Kautsky,  "The  Social  Revolution,"  Chicago,  1903,  p.  129. 


SOCIALISM  AND  THE  STATE  11/ 

cripple,  the  invalid,  the  decrepit,  the  imbecile,  the  un- 
fortunate step-children  of  nature,  by  reducing  their 
rations  of  food  or  clothing?  Is  there  any  moral  sanc- 
tion for  rewarding  the  man  of  physical  strength  or  mental 
gifts  by  special  allowances  from  the  storehouse  of  human 
society  ?  Do  humane  parents  discriminate  in  that  manner 
between  their  strong  and  weak,  their  fortunate  and  un- 
fortunate children  ?  Is  the  title  of  the  stronger  and  "abler" 
to  greater  material  reward  based  on  equity,  or  is  it  rather 
a  survival  of  the  barbaric  "  fist  right  "  of  the  dark  ages? 

To  the  socialists  the  old  communistic  motto:  "From 
each  according  to  his  ability,  to  each  according  to  his 
needs,"  generally  appears  as  the  ideal  rule  of  distribution 
in  an  enlightened  human  society,  and  quite  likely  the  time 
will  come  when  that  high  standard  will  be  generally 
adopted  by  civilized  communities. 

The  productivity  of  labor  is  increasing  with  such 
phenomenal  rapidity  that  we  may  well  foresee  a  time  when 
society  will,  with  comparative  ease,  produce  enough  to 
afford  to  all  its  members,  without  distinction,  all  neces- 
saries and  even  luxuries  of  life,  and  when  there  will  be 
just  as  little  justification  for  a  quarrel  over  the  method  of 
distribution  of  material  wealth  as  there  is  to-day  for  a 
quarrel  over  the  use  of  air  or  water.  To  the  wise  skeptics 
the  statement  may  seem  extravagant,  but  when  we  com- 
pare the  wealth  and  productivity  of  modern  countries  to- 
day with  those  of  half  a  century  ago,  we  shall  easily  realize 
that  we  are  by  no  means  dealing  with  pure  Utopian  dreams. 

But  just  and  feasible  as  this  ideal  method  of  distribu- 
tion may  be,  it  is  to-day  nevertheless  a  mere  ideal,  a  hope 
to  be  realized  in  the  more  or  less  distant  future.  It  is  not 
a  part  of  the  present  program  of  the  socialist  movement. 


Il8     THE  SOCIALIST  PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 

Modern  socialists  recognize  that  the  methods  of  distribu- 
tion under  the  new  order  of  things  must  take  for  their 
starting  point  the  present  methods,  i.e.,  payments  of  vary- 
ing wages  or  salaries  for  services  rendered. 

Here  again  we  run  counter  to  a  deep-rooted  popular  con- 
ception or  rather  misconception  of  the  socialist  program. 
One  of  the  pet  schemes  of  the  early  socialist  experimenters 
was  the  substitution  of  "labor  certificates"  or  "time  certifi- 
cates" for  money.  By  this  means  they  expected  to  fix  the 
value  of  each  commodity  with  reference  to  the  labor  time 
contained  in  it  as  it  were  automatically,  to  eliminate  the 
"  unearned  increment"  of  the  capitalist  and  the  profit  of  the 
middleman  and  to  give  to  each  producer  the  full  equivalent 
of  his  labor.  The  scheme  was  on  a  par  with  that  of  the 
"equitable  labor  exchange  banks,"  the  communistic 
societies  and  the  other  social  experiments  of  the  Utopian 
socialists.  They  all  proceeded  from  the  belief  that  a 
small  group  of  men  could  dissociate  themselves  from  the 
rest  of  society,  establish  a  miniature  socialist  common- 
wealth, and  induce  their  fellow-men  to  follow  their  ex- 
ample by  the  practical  demonstration  of  its  excellence. 
Modern  socialists  have  long  discarded  all  miniature  social 
experimentations  and  arbitrary  social  devices  as  Utopian 
and  puerile,  and  the  continued  dissertations  of  many  dis- 
tinguished critics  of  socialism  about  the  "socialist  plan" 
of  the  suppression  of  money  and  the  abolition  of  money 
payments  for  services,  only  go  to  demonstrate  how  little 
they  are  abreast  with  the  developments  of  socialist  thought. 

Money  and  wages  are  both  the  products  of  a  certain 
phase  of  economic  development.  Neither  was  known 
before  the  rise  of  private  property,  and  in  all  likelihood 
both  will  at  some  time  in  the  distant  future  lose  their  use- 


SOCIALISM   AND  THE   STATE  II9 

fulness  and  disappear.  But  these  reflections  again  belong 
to  the  sphere  of  dreams  of  the  golden  future,  —  they  have 
no  room  in  a  sober  and  realistic  program  of  social  reform. 

"Money,"  says  Kautsky,  "is  the  simplest  means  known 
up  to  the  present  time  which  makes  it  possible  in  as  com- 
plicated a  mechanism  as  that  of  the  modern  productive 
process,  with  its  tremendous  far-reaching  division  of  labor, 
to  secure  the  circulation  of  products  and  their  distribution 
to  the  individual  members  of  society.  It  is  the  means 
which  make  it  possible  for  each  one  to  satisfy  his  neces- 
sities according  to  his  individual  inclination  (to  be  sure 
within  the  bounds  of  his  economic  power).  As  a  means  to 
such  circulation,  money  will  be  found  indispensable  until 
something  better  is  discovered."  * 


*o 


Incentive   Under  Socialism 

Next  to  the  assertion  that  it  would  curtail  individual 
liberty,  the  most  popular  objection  to  the  proposed  system 
of  socialism  is  that  every  such  system  is  bound  to  paralyze 
social  progress  by  depriving  the  individual  initiative  of 
the  incentive  to  exert  itself  usefully  in  behalf  of  society. 

This  argument  assumes:  first,  that  individual  initiative 
is  the  chief  lever  of  human  progress,  and  second,  that  the 
love  of  material  gain  is  the  principal,  if  not  the  only, 
motive  which  impels  men  to  strive  for  the  highest  degree 
of  excellence  in  the  various  fields  of  private  and  public 
endeavor.  Since  socialism  is  based  on  a  system  of  more 
or  less  equal  and  secured  incomes,  and  excludes  the  pos- 
sibility of  large  pecuniary  rewards,  it  is  argued  that  under 
such  a  system  the  man  of  genius  will  have  no  inducement 

*  "The  Social  Revolution,"  p.  129. 


120     THE  SOCIALIST  PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 

to  exert  his  utmost  skill,  the  common  mortal  will  work 
reluctantly  and  indifferently,  and  social  stagnation  will 
inevitably  result.     Let  us  examine  this  argument. 

What  constitutes  modern  civilization  is  the  sum  total  of 
all  our  achievements  in  industry,  in  science,  in  the  arts,  and 
in  the  various  organs  and  institutions  of  public  life  and 
activities  which  are  comprised  under  the  general  designa- 
tion of  politics. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  a  large  share  of  these  achieve- 
ments is  due  to  the  individual  initiative  and  the  creative 
genius  of  exceptional  men.  But  let  us  not  overestimate 
the  importance  of  this  factor  in  social  progress.  Our 
civilization  owes  on  the  whole  much  more  to  the  collective 
endeavors  of  man  than  to  the  individual  genius  of  men, 
and  the  general  improvement  in  our  culture,  refinement  of 
work,  and  mode  of  life,  is  vastly  more  the  result  of  a  process 
of  social  growth  to  which  the  large  multitudes  of  human 
beings  have  for  many  generations  contributed  their  un- 
known and  imperceptible  mites,  than  the  merit  of  the 
great  individual  inventors,  discoverers  or  leaders.  "So- 
cial achievement,"  says  Professor  Ward,  "has  consisted 
in  the  establishment  of  a  social  order  under  and  within 
which  individual  achievement  can  go  on  and  civilization 
is  made  possible."* 

The  art  of  book  printing,  the  use  of  gunpowder,  and  the 
application  of  steam  and  electricity  have  all  been  invented 
or  perfected  by  individual  geniuses,  but  the  more  substan- 
tial arts  of  plowing,  cooking,  tailoring  and  housebuilding 
have  been  invented,  developed  and  perfected  by  the  human 
race  as  a  whole.  What  is  still  more  significant,  however,  is 
this,  that  while  the  collective  inventions  belong  to  an  ear- 

*  Lester  F.  Ward,  "Applied  Sociology,"  Boston,  1906,  p.  38. 


SOCIALISM   AND   THE   STATE  121 

Her  age  and  the  individual  inventions  to  a  later  age,  we  have 
undoubtedly  reached  a  period  which  is  characterized  by  the 
process  of  the  gradual  passing  of  the  individual  inventor, 
initiator  or  hero,  and  of  the  return  to  a  system  of  social 
progress  through  collective  effort. 

And  nowhere  is  this  process  more  distinctly  noticeable 
than  in  the  most  vital  sphere  of  human  activity,  industry. 
Industrial  development  depends  almost  entirely  upon  the 
efficient  organization  of  the  mechanism  of  production  (which 
includes  a  proper  division  of  labor,  organization  of  manage- 
ment, and  use  of  effective  machinery),  and  of  transporta- 
tion and  exchange,  and  in  all  these  domains  collective 
achievements  are  rapidly  supplanting  individual  enter- 
prise. The  modern  mass  production  based  on  the  factory 
system  forces  the  organization  and  division  of  labor  along 
lines  practically  indicated  by  the  machine;  and  while 
there  is  still  much  room  left  for  the  exercise  of  human  in- 
genuity in  the  arrangement  and  rearrangement  of  details, 
such  arrangements  and  rearrangements  are  in  most  cases 
the  result  of  simple  experience,  almost  of  mathematical  cal- 
culation, and  not  the  work  of  an  exceptional  genius.  Nor 
are  the  other  modern  industrial  categories,  the  cor- 
porations and  trusts,  the  stock  exchanges  and  banks, 
the  system  of  credit  and  the  national  and  international 
markets,  the  individual  invention  of  an  industrial  genius. 
They  are  the  products  and  forms  of  gradual  industrial 
development ;  the  entire  industrial  community,  employers 
and  employees,  have  imperceptibly  built  them  up  in  the 
course  of  centuries,  and  they  are  still  busily  engaged  in  the 
process  of  developing  and  perfecting  these  institutions 
without  marked  individual  initiative  or  leadership.  And 
in  the  domain  of  the  invention  and  perfection  of  machinery, 


122     THE   SOCIALIST  PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

this  peculiar  territory  of  the  individual  genius,  the  element 
of  personal  initiative  is  gradually  and  steadily  receding 
to  the  background. 

The  laws  of  mechanics  are  being  explored  with  ever  in- 
creasing accuracy  and  planfulness  for  the  practical  re- 
quirements of  industry,  and  the  new  improvements  in  the 
tools  of  production  are  now  but  rarely  in  the  nature  of 
great  and  unexpected  inventions;  more  often  they  are 
merely  the  successful  solutions  of  preconceived  problems 
by  means  of  well-defined  scientific  methods.  The  hustling, 
up-to-date  experimental  laboratory  is  rapidly  crowding 
out  the  dreamy  inventive  genius.  Wliat  we  call  ''  Edison" 
to-day  is  not  the  Thomas  A.  Edison  who  early  in  life  made 
the  astounding  inventions  in  telegraphy,  but  the  well- 
equipped,  well-organized  electrical  laboratory  at  West 
Orange,  New  Jersey,  with  the  number  of  trained  scientific 
workers  engaged  in  it. 

And  what  has  been  said  of  the  industrial  process  applies 
with  almost  equal  force  to  the  domain  of  science :  the  fac- 
tory system  with  its  specialization,  division  of  labor,  and 
collective  production,  is  the  recognized  form  of  modern 
scientific  research  almost  as  much  as  it  is  the  form  of  the 
modern  manufacture  of  market  commodities.  Scientific 
work  is,  as  a  rule,  not  done  by  individuals  but  by  groups 
of  workers ;  not  at  home,  but  in  laboratories,  clinics  and 
libraries,  and  scientific  discoveries  like  mechanical  inven- 
tions are  most  often  the  results  of  planned  and  collective 
labor.  Left  to  his  own  individual  resources,  the  modern 
scientist  would  be  almost  helpless. 

Nor  does  our  public  life  form  an  exception  to  this 
general  tendency  of  our  times.  The  great  individual  leg- 
islators, as  Moses,  Solon,  Lycurgus,  and  even  Napoleon, 


SOCIALISM  AND   THE  STATE  1 23 

have  been  superseded  by  the  many-headed  bodies  of  popu- 
lar representatives  in  the  legislative  chambers;  the  great 
free-lance  statesmen  have  made  room  for  the  chosen  leaders 
of  strong  political  parties,  and  the  success  of  a  modern 
battle  depends  not  so  much  on  the  military  genius  of  the 
individual  commander  as  on  the  proper  organization  and 
equipment  of  his  army.  In  the  recent  Russo-Japanese 
war  the  demoralized  Russian  army  and  navy  did  not 
produce  a  single  military  or  naval  "genius,"  whereas  in  the 
well-organized  and  well-equipped  Japanese  army  and  navy 
every  general  and  admiral  was  a  "hero."  In  one  domain 
after  the  other  the  individual  genius  and  arbiter  of  human 
destiny,  the  "hero"  of  Carlyle  is  being  dethroned  and 
subordinated  to  the  collective  human  fraternity.  The 
domain  of  the  arts  is  to-day  practically  the  last  resting 
place  of  the  "  superman." 

Individual  initiative  and  talent  thus  by  no  means  play 
such  a  determining  part  in  the  world's  progress  as  the 
critics  of  socialism  claim.  But  on  the  other  hand  the  so- 
cialists readily  admit  that  they  play  some  part.  There 
always  were  and  probably  always  will  be  persons  of  ex- 
traordinary gifts  and  abilities  who  may  contribute  vastly 
more  to  the  store  of  human  welfare  and  happiness  than  the 
average  man.  Without  them  the  world  would  probably 
not  relapse  into  a  state  of  barbarism,  but  it  will  fare  much 
better  with  them  and  their  services.  But  what  of  it? 
Is  there  any  real  danger  that  under  a  system  of  socialism 
these  superior  individuals  would  disappear  or  refuse  to 
give  the  benefit  of  their  special  talents  to  society  ?  Is  the 
striving  for  wealth  actually  the  most  powerful  incentive  of 
the  creative  genius?  The  theory  seems  plausible  enough 
as  regards  the  leader  in  industry,  the  business  man,  but 


124     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   .VND   MOVEMENT 

how  about  the  scientist,  the  artist,  the  statesman?  This 
is  a  fruitful  source  for  reflection  and  comparison. 

The  manufacturer,  banker  or  other  active  capitalist 
undoubtedly  strives  for  material  wealth.  But  wealth  is 
for  him  only  secondarily,  if  at  all,  a  means  of  procuring 
physical  or  intellectual  enjoyment.  To  him  wealth  rep- 
resents power,  and  above  all,  it  is  the  test  of  his  success  in 
his  chosen  vocation.  To  say  of  a  man  engaged  in  industry 
or  commerce  that  he  has  made  a  large  fortune  is  to  say 
that  he  has  proved  himself  efficient  and  successful  in  his 
career;  to  say  of  him  that  he  has  lost  his  fortune  is 
equivalent  to  asserting  that  he  has  proved  himself  the 
inferior  of  his  rivals,  that  he  is  inefficient,  and  that  his 
life  work  has  been  a  failure. 

The  man  of  science,  on  the  other  hand,  would  gain  or 
lose  but  little  in  the  esteem  of  his  contemporaries  and  in  his 
own  self-respect  by  the  gain  or  loss  of  a  fortune.  The  test 
of  his  success  is  not  the  amount  of  money  he  has  made,  but 
the  extent  of  the  recognition  accorded  to  him  and  his  work 
by  the  learned  fraternity.  Scholastic  honors  and  aca- 
demic titles  are  to  him  what  money  is  to  the  business  man ; 
his  incentive  is  not  the  love  of  money  but  the  desire  of 
recognition. 

Again,  the  reward  of  the  artist  is  neither  money  nor 
academic  titles.  As  an  artist  he  strives  primarily  for  pub- 
lic applause  and  glory,  for  these  are  the  true  tests  of  his 
success  and  efficiency  in  the  side  of  his  existence  which 
he  values  most,  his  art. 

So  likewise,  the  statesman  cares  most  for  influence  and 
authority,  the  soldier  for  mihtary  honors  and  preferment, 
and  the  priest  for  the  respect  and  reverence  of  his  fellow- 
men. 


SOCIALISM   AND   THE   STATE  125 

Of  course,  it  may  well  happen,  and  no  doubt  often  does 
happen,  that  the  scientist,  the  artist,  the  statesman,  the 
soldier  and  the  priest  are  anything  but  indifferent  to 
material  wealth.  They  may  prefer  an  easy  and  com- 
fortable existence,  they  may  sometimes  be  goaded  on  to 
create  by  sheer  poverty  and  want,  and  they  may  even 
occasionally  be  grasping  and  greedy.  But  these  will 
then  be  features  entirely  independent  of  their  respective 
gifts  and  talents,  and  by  no  means  a  stimulus  to  their 
best  application.  ''It  is  not  true,"  again  observes  Ward, 
"that  men  of  genius  depend  upon  adversity  and  dire 
necessity  as  a  spur  to  activity.  This  is  all  a  popular  illu- 
sion which  the  entire  history  of  human  achievement  dis- 
proves and  should  dispel.  The  instinct  of  workmanship, 
if  it  be  in  no  other  form  than  fear  of  the  hell  of  ennui,  is 
the  great  and  unremitting  spur  that  drives  and  goads  all 
men  to  action."  ^ 

The  real  incentive  moving  all  men  to  bring  forth  the 
best  that  is  in  them  is  just  that  best  that  is  in  them :  their 
desire  is  to  excel  and  to  earn  the  recognition  of  their  fellow- 
men  in  such  a  form  in  which  such  recognition  is  most  fitly 
expressed.  And  the  business  man,  whose  apparently 
sole  motive  is  money  making,  forms  no  exception  to  this 
rule.  To-day,  when  industries  are  conducted  for  private 
gain  and  in  competition  between  the  individual  capitalists, 
accumulated  individual  wealth  is,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
only  measure  of  the  business  man's  efficiency  and  suc- 
cess. But  when  the  industrial  organization  passes  into 
the  hands  of  society  and  becomes  a  part  of  its  general 
administration,  the  distinction  between  service  in  that 
branch  of  the  government  and  any  other  branch  of  it 

*  "Applied  Sociology,"  p.  245. 


126     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 

will  naturally  cease.  The  director  of  industries  will  be- 
come a  "statesman"  just  as  any  other  public  functionary, 
and  will  be  just  as  much  moved  by  motives  of  a  more 
ideal  nature  as  the  latter.  Our  post  office  has  been 
nationalized,  and  its  operation  has  become  an  adminis- 
trative function,  while  the  express  business  of  the  country 
has  remained  the  individual  enterprise  of  competing 
capitalists.  The  salary  of  the  Postmaster-General,  who 
is  a  public  officer,  is  a  mere  pittance  in  comparison  with 
the  revenues  of  the  head  of  one  of  our  large  express  com- 
panies, and  still  the  government  has  been  able  to  secure 
for  the  administration  of  its  Post-Office  Department  men 
at  least  as  capable  as  the  highly  paid  managers  of  the 
express  companies. 

A  socialist  society  will  not  destroy  the  individual  in- 
centive in  industrial  life ;  it  will  merely  change  its  char- 
acter by  substituting  a  more  ideal  standard  for  the  present 
standard  of  pecuniary  gain. 

And  as  for  the  scientist,  artist  and  statesman,  a  socialist 
regime  cannot  possibly  affect  their  creative  work  adversely 
by  cutting  down  their  money  reward,  since  that  reward, 
as  we  have  shown,  never  was  their  prime  incentive.  The 
golden  age  of  Athens  knew  nothing  of  immense  fortunes 
and  heavy  money  rewards,  but  it  produced  a  sculpture, 
drama,  literature  and  architecture  never  surpassed  in 
history. 

"To  undertake  to  state  the  influence  which  the  com- 
munistic elements  in  Athenian  life  had  upon  the  ex- 
traordinary development  of  Athenian  art  and  literature 
in  the  fifth  century  before  our  era,"  says  Professor  Sey- 
mour, "would  be  dangerous.  But  any  reader  may  see 
that  the  artist  and  dramatist  were  not  stimulated  by  any 


SOCIALISM   AND  THE   STATE  12/ 

material  rewards  or  prizes,  ^schylus  had  no  income 
whatever,  so  far  as  we  know,  from  his  plays,  and  the 
architect's  pay  was  only  twice  that  of  the  stonecutter."  ^ 
Nor,  we  may  add,  did  the  great  statesmen  and  orators 
of  that  period,  as  Pericles  and  Demosthenes,  receive  large 
pecuniary  compensation. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that 
a  socialist  regime  will  offer  larger  opportunities  for  the 
unfolding  and  development  of  true  genius  and  for  its  pure 
artistic  exercise  than  present  society  does. 

Our  modern  capitalist  society  does  all  in  its  power  to 
suppress  genius  and  ability,  but  does  not  entirely  succeed. 
Capitalism  reduces  one  part  of  the  population  to  the  con- 
dition of  uncultured,  exhausted  wage  slaves,  and  forces 
the  other  into  a  wild,  all-absorbing  race  for  material 
wealth;  still  the  exceptional  gifts  of  some  break 
through  these  formidable  obstacles.  Capitalism  subverts 
all  art  and  science  to  the  worship  of  the  golden  calf;  it 
subordinates  the  beautiful  to  the  practical,  the  true  to  the 
profitable,  and  strips  life  of  all  poetry  and  noble  inspira- 
tion; still,  art  and  science  are  not  entirely  dead.  The 
capitalist  manufacturer  cheats  the  inventor,  the  capitalist 
publisher  robs  the  author,  the  capitalist  art  dealer  exploits 
the  painter,  —  the  inventor  dies  in  the  poorhouse,  the 
author  and  artist  Hve  m  beggary;  but  the  inventor  con- 
tinues inventing,  the  scientist  continues  studying  and  the 
artist  continues  creating. 

Under  a  state  of  socialism  education  and  culture  will 
be  equally  accessible  to  all,  and  the  citizens  will  have  more 
leisure  to  cultivate  their  gifts.     What  greater  stimulus 

*  "Socialism  and  Communism  in  Greece,"  by  Thomas  D.  Seymour, 
LL.D.,  in  Harper's  Monthly  Magazine  for  November,  1907. 


128     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 

can  human  society  offer  for  the  full  development  of  the 
fine  arts  and  true  sciences? 

The  elaborate  and  painstaking  investigations  of  Odin, 
Galton,  de  Candollc  and  Jacoby,  all  collated  by  Mr. 
Ward  in  his  scholarly  work  on  "  Applied  Sociology,"  show 
conclusively  that  modern  economic  conditions  smother 
scores  of  native  genius  for  every  one  they  allow  to  mature. 
Analyzing  the  economic  conditions  of  619  well-known 
men  of  letters  between  the  years  1300  and  1825,  de 
Candolle  finds  that  562  of  them  had  been  brought  up  and 
had  lived  in  ease  and  material  comfort,  while  only  57 
had  spent  their  youth  in  comparative  poverty;  and  M. 
Odin,  commenting  on  the  results  of  this  analysis,  ob- 
serves: "This  means  by  the  sole  fact  of  economic  con- 
ditions in  the  midst  of  which  they  grew  up  the  children 
of  the  families  in  easy  circumstances  had  at  least  forty 
to  fifty  more  chances  of  making  themselves  a  name  in 
letters  than  those  who  belonged  to  poor  families  or  to 
families  of  insecure  economic  position."  ^ 

But,  it  is  argued,  all  this  may  be  very  well  as  far  as  the 
men  of  exceptional  genius  and  abilities  are  concerned, 
but  how  about  the  plain  ordinary  workingman,  the  "com- 
mon laborer"  who  can  neither  expect  the  special  homage 
or  approval  of  his  fellow-men  for  his  obscure  work  nor, 
under  a  system  of  advanced  socialism,  a  commensurate 
pecuniary  reward  —  what  will  be  his  incentive  to  work 
conscientiously  and  efficiently? 

This  question  introduces  a  distinct  feature  of  present 
conditions  into  a  state  of  society  based  on  an  entirely 
different  order.     To-day  our  industries  are  managed  by 

'  A.  Odin,  "Genese  des  grands  hommes,"  etc.,  Paris,  1895,  p.  529, 
quoted  in  Ward's  "Applied  Sociology,"  p.  204. 


SOCIALISM   AND  THE   STATE  1 29 

individual  capitalists  for  their  private  profit  and  with  but 
little  regard  for  the  health,  comfort  or  needs  of  the  em- 
ployees; work  is  exhausting,  monotonous,  repulsive  and 
often  dangerous.  In  a  system  of  cooperative  labor,  the 
workingman  will  naturally  be  considered  above  every- 
thing else;  his  hours  of  labor  will  be  shortened  as  much 
as  practicable,  his  occupation  will  be  more  varied,  the 
dangers  of  employment  will  be  reduced  to  a  minimum, 
the  workshop  will  be  clean,  bright  and  hygienic;  in  a 
word,  labor  will  be  made  attractive. 

"Because,"  observes  J.  Stern,  "the  workingman  con- 
siders as  a  burden  the  work  which  ties  him  to  a  mechani- 
cal, monotonous  and  cheerless  occupation  in  squalid 
workshops  during  inhumanly  long  hours  and  for  which 
he  receives  starvation  wages;  because  the  office  clerk 
prefers  to  play  truant  rather  than  to  busy  himself  the 
entire  day  with  matters  that  do  not  appeal  to  his  mind 
or  heart;  because  men  are  reluctant  in  the  exercise  of 
a  calling  which  was  forced  on  them  against  their  wishes 
and  inclinations ;  because  generally  the  present  class  state 
imposes  on  most  persons  activities  which  have  no  charms 
for  them  and  only  hold  out  the  promise  of  pecuniary  re- 
ward —  because  of  all  that  —  are  we  to  infer  that  the 
human  being  is  generally  disposed  to  laziness  rather  than 
to  industry?  Does  not,  on  the  contrary,  even  the  most 
superficial  examination  of  persons  of  all  ages  and  classes 
show  that  love  of  action,  the  irresistible  desire  to  unfold 
one's  strength,  to  '  do  things '  and  to  create,  is  implanted 
in  every  healthy  human  individual,  and  that  to  the  normal 
person  nothing  is  more  unbearable  than  inaction?  .  .  . 
In  a  million  of  ways  the  love  of  action  reveals  itself  as  a 
mighty  power  in  human  life,  from  early  childhood  even 


I30     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

to  old  age.  Whence  comes  the  passion  for  all  kinds  of 
sports  but  from  the  mighty  instinct  of  action?  Why 
do  people  voluntarily  choose  strenuous  and  even  dangerous 
activities,  as  is  shown  by  numerous  instances  in  life  and 
history  ?  This  fear,  that  without  the  whip  of  poverty  or 
force  mankind  would  lapse  into  a  state  of  inaction,  re- 
minds us  of  the  humorous  prophecy  upon  the  advent  of 
the  bicycle  and  automobile  that  men  would  hereafter  have 
little  occasion  for  the  use  of  their  legs,  and  the  latter  would 
become  weak,  short  and  crooked  like  those  of  the  dachs- 
hund." ' 

And  furthermore,  one  of  the  chief  causes  operating 
to-day  to  make  labor  disagreeable  is  the  lack  of  variety  in 
occupation. 

"The  desire  for  freedom  of  choice  and  for  change  of 
occupation  is  deeply  implanted  in  human  nature,"  says 
August  Bebel.  "Just  as  constant  and  regular  repetition 
without  variation  will  at  length  make  the  best  food  dis- 
liked, an  employment  that  is  daily  repeated  becomes  as 
monotonous  as  a  treadmill;  it  blunts  and  relaxes.  The 
man  performs  a  given  task,  because  he  must,  but  without 
enthusiasm  or  enjoyment.  Now,  every  one  possesses  a 
number  of  capabilities  and  inclinations,  which  only  require 
to  be  roused,  developed,  and  put  into  action  to  give  the 
most  satisfactory  results  and  enable  their  possessor  to 
unfold  his  whole  and  real  being.  The  socialistic  com- 
munity will  offer  the  fullest  opportunity  for  gratifying 
this  need  of  variety.  The  enormous  increase  in  produc- 
tive power,  combined  with  growing  simplification  in  the 

*  J.  Stern,  "  Der  Zukunftsstaat  —  Thesen  iiber  den  Sozialismus, 
sein  Wesen,  seine  Durchfiihrbarkeit  und  Zweckmassigkeit,"  Berlin, 
1906,  p.  30. 


SOCIALISM   AND  THE   STATE  131 

process  of  production,  will  permit  a  considerable  limita- 
tion in  the  time  of  labor,  while  it  facilitates  the  acquire- 
ment of  mechanical  skill  in  a  number  of  different 
branches."  ^ 

The  Political  Structure  of  the  Socialist  State 

We  cannot,  of  course,  attempt  a  detailed  forecast  of 
the  political  organization  of  the  future  socialist  state  with- 
out embarking  upon  the  domain  of  speculation.  But  we 
may,  nevertheless,  profitably  endeavor  to  discern  the  bold 
outlines  of  the  political  structure  of  the  socialist  state,  at 
least  in  the  early  periods  of  its  existence,  provided  w^e 
always  bear  in  mind  the  following  two  fundamental 
propositions :  — 

1.  The  machinery  of  government  of  every  state  must 
be  adapted  to  the  character  and  objects  of  such  state. 

The  modem  state  is  the  state  of  the  capitalist  extracting 
profits  from  the  working  members  of  the  community,  and 
the  modern  government  is,  in  the  words  of  Karl  Marx, 
"but  a  committee  for  managing  the  common  affairs  of 
the  capitalist  class." 

The  socialist  state,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  classless 
state  of  cooperative  producers,  and  its  go^^emment  must 
be  a  "committee  for  the  managing  of  the  common  affairs" 
of  the  members  of  that  state.  In  other  words,  the  main 
functions  of  the  socialist  state  will  be  of  an  industrial 
character,  and  since  there  will  be  no  separate  economic 
classes  with  fixed  and  conflicting  interests,  the  state  will 
represent  the  citizens.     It  will  be  a  democratic  state. 

2.  Every  new  political  organization  evolves  from  the 


1  « 


Woman,"  p.  134. 


132     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

organization  immediately  preceding  it  and  retains  all  of 
its  features  except  such  as  have  become  useless  or  in- 
compatible with  the  new  order  of  things. 

The  French  Revolution  has  not  done  away  with  the 
entire  political  structure  evolved  under  the  monarchy;  it 
has  merely  modified  it  in  a  few  substantial  points.  The 
United  States  has  retained  more  features  of  its  pre-Revo- 
lutionary  political  organization  than  it  has  introduced 
new  ones  since  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

The  socialist  state  will  probably,  on  the  whole,  retain 
the  present  forms  of  political  organization  with  such 
changes  as  will  be  necessitated  by  the  altered  character 
and  objects  of  organized  society. 

Most  likely  the  present  geographical  limits  of  the 
various  states  will  be  left  substantially  intact.  The 
political  ideal  of  the  early  socialist  waiters  was  a  globe 
studded  with  small  autonomous  communities.  Thus 
Fourier's  political  unit  is  the  Phalanx  composed  of  about 
two  thousand  inhabitants,  and  his  scheme  of  political  re- 
organization contemplates  the  division  of  our  planet  into 
just  two  millions  of  such  Phalanxes,  each  economically 
and  politically  independent  of  the  rest.  It  is  a  note- 
worthy fact  that  the  proposed  Utopian  communities  grow 
in  size  as  the  authors  come  nearer  to  our  present  era. 

"The  socialist  commonwealth,"  observes  Kautsky  on 
this  point,  "is  not  the  product  of  an  arbitrary  figment  of 
the  brain,  but  a  necessary  product  of  economic  develop- 
ment, and  it  is  understood  more  clearly  as  that  develop- 
ment becomes  more  apparent.  Hence  the  size  of  that 
commonwealth  is  also  not  arbitrary,  but  is  conditioned 
upon  the  stage  of  that  development  at  a  given  time. 
The  higher  the  economic  development,  the  greater  the 


SOCIALISM   AND  THE   STATE  1 33 

division  of  labor,  the  larger  the  size  of  the  common- 
wealth. .  .  . 

"  The  division  of  labor  is  carried  on  ever  further;  ever 
more  do  the  several  industries  apply  themselves  to  the 
production  of  special  articles  only,  but  those  for  the  whole 
world;  ever  larger  becomes  the  size  of  these  establish- 
ments, some  of  which  count  their  workmen  by  the  thou- 
sands. Under  such  conditions  a  community  able  to  satisfy 
all  its  needs  and  embracing  all  requisite  industries  must 
have  dimensions  very  different  from  those  of  the  socialist 
colonies  planned  at  the  beginning  of  the  last  century. 
Among  the  social  organizations  in  existence  to-day,  there 
is  but  one  that  possesses  the  requisite  dimensions,  and 
may  be  used  as  the  framework  for  the  establishment  and 
development  of  the  socialist  commonwealth,  and  that  is 
the  modern  stated  ^ 

The  expectation  that  the  proposed  socialist  common- 
wealth will  be  co-extensive  with  the  modern  state,  and  the 
assumption  that  the  state  will  be  charged  with  the  man- 
agement and  direction  of  the  industries,  have  led  to  the 
widespread  notion  that  the  socialist  state  will  be  highly 
centralized  and  that  the  socialist  administration  will  be 
"paternalistic." 

Nothing  can  be  less  warranted  than  these  assumptions. 
The  modern  centralized  state  is  a  product  of  the  capitalist 
system,  and  especially  of  capitalist  trading. 

We  again  quote  that  acutest  observer  and  thinker  of 
modern  socialism,  Karl  Kautsky :  — 

*  Karl  Kautsky,  "Das  Erfurter  Programm,"  8th  Edition,  Stuttgart, 
1907,  pp.  117,  118,  119.  Compare  also  "The  Socialist  Republic,"  by 
Karl  Kautsky,  translated  and  adapted  to  America  by  Daniel  de  Leon, 
New  York,  1900,  pp.  10,  11. 


134     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

"  Commerce  has  always  had  a  tendency  towards  central- 
ization. It  causes  the  influx  of  commodities  as  well  as  of 
buyers  and  sellers  to  certain  points  favored  by  their  geo- 
graphical location  and  political  conditions.  Under  the 
capitalist  mode  of  production,  which  converts  all  industry 
into  production  of  commodities,  and  makes  it  dependent 
on  commerce,  the  centralization  of  commerce  leads  to  the 
centralization  of  the  entire  industrial  life.  The  whole 
country  becomes  directly  or  indirectly  dependent  on  the 
metropolis,  as  it  becomes  dependent  on  the  capitalist 
class.  The  metropolis,  the  center  of  commerce,  also 
becomes  the  converging  point  of  all  surplus  value,  of  all 
superfluity  of  the  country,  and  luxury  lures  after  it  the 
arts  and  the  sciences. 

"The  economic  centralization  leads  to  political  centrali- 
zation, and  the  center  of  commerce  also  becomes  the  cen- 
ter of  government."  ^ 

Since  there  is  no  room  in  a  socialist  commonwealth  for 
production  for  sale  or  for  commerce,  there  is  no  economic 
need  for  a  strongly  centralized  government.  Moreover, 
the  very  fact  that  the  socialist  state  will  be  charged 
with  much  larger  functions  than  the  present  state,  and 
will  exercise  a  much  larger  interference  in  the  economic 
relations  of  its  individual  citizens,  will  make  it  an  almost 
impossible  task  to  direct  the  most  substantial  activities  of 
the  state  from  one  central  point  and  through  one  set 
of  general  officers. 

While  the  state  as  such  will  probably  retain  certain 
general  functions,  it  will  no  doubt  be  found  more  con- 
venient to  vest  the  more  vital  and  direct  functions  in 
political  organizations  embracing  smaller  territories.     The 
1  "Der  Parlamentarismus,"  etc.,  Stuttgart,  1893,  p.  30. 


SOCIALISM   AND  THE   STATE  1 35 

socialists  regard  the  present  city  or  township  as  the  nucleus 
of  such  a  political  unit. 

The  city  is  to-day  already  charged  with  many  functions 
of  prime  importance  to  the  welfare  of  its  inhabitants,  and 
those  functions  could  be  readily  enlarged  under  a  socialist 
administration.  The  municipality  could  well  conduct, 
direct  or  regulate  all  industries  except  those  that  from 
their  nature  require  an  organization  of  national  scope, 
such  as  the  posts,  telegraphs,  railways,  mines,  and  the 
great  trustified  industries.  It  could,  besides,  have  the 
sole  care  of  the  safety,  health,  education  and  amusement 
of  its  citizens  and  of  the  support  and  maintenance  of  its 
aged,  invalid  and  other  dependent  members. 

It  is  not  at  all  unlikely  that  these  functions  may, 
especially  in  the  case  of  larger  municipalities,  be  further 
subdivided,  and  apportioned  among  several  organized 
"labor  groups"  or  city  districts. 

"The  single  communes,"  says  August  Bebel,  "form  a 
suitable  basis  for  such  an  institution,  and  where  they  are 
too  large  to  allow  of  the  convenient  transaction  of  busi- 
ness, they  can  be  divided  into  districts.  All  adult  mem- 
bers of  the  commune,  without  distinction  of  sex,  take 
part  in  the  necessary  elections,  and  determine  to  what 
persons  the  conduct  of  affairs  shall  be  intrusted."  ^ 

And  Anton  Menger  describes  his  conception  of  the 
practical  workings  of  such  organizations  in  the  following 
language :  "At  first  it  will  be  necessary  to  divide  the  larger 
municipalities  into  local  districts  in  order  to  facilitate  their 
industrial  activities.  For  the  same  reason  every  large 
municipality  in  which  the  industrial  life  is  very  complex, 
will   have  to  organize  the  members  of  the  same  trade 

*  "Woman,"  p.  130. 


136     THE   SOCIALIST  PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 

or  calling  into  separate  '  labor  groups.'  But  these  inter- 
mediary organizations  are  to  be  considered  only  as  ad- 
ministrative organs.  The  municipality  remains  the  owner 
and  the  authority  in  all  industrial  activity.  Hence  the 
members  of  the  group  may  assert  the  right  of  existence  as 
against  the  municipality,  but  they  have  no  claim  to  a 
division  of  the  product  of  the  group's  labor  in  any  fixed 
proportion.  .  .  . 

"The  municipality  may  establish  or  dissolve  the  labor 
group  and  may  assign  to  it  members,  work  and  ma- 
terial. .  .  .  The  managers  of  the  labor  group  are  ap- 
pointed and  discharged  by  the  municipality.  .  .  . 

"When  the  socialist  state  has  become  firmly  established, 
the  labor  groups  may  be  transformed  with  great  caution 
in  the  direction  of  greater  democracy."  ^ 

These  ideas  are,  of  course,  purely  speculative,  and  there 
seems  to  be  no  valid  reason  why  the  managers  and  foremen 
of  the  "labor  group"  should  not  be  elected  by  the  group 
members  at  the  very  outset  as  suggested,  for  instance,  by 
Laurence  Gronlund.^  But  the  ideas  are,  nevertheless, 
valuable  as  indications  of  one  of  the  possible  arrangements 
under  socialism. 

The  city  with  or  without  political  and  industrial  sub- 
divisions will  thus  absorb  the  most  important  govern- 
mental activities  under  socialism,  and  the  central  govern- 
ment will  as  a  result  be  limited  to  the  management  of  the 
"national"  industries  and  to  the  enactment  of  general 
laws  and  regulations. 

For  while  the  city  will  enjoy  a  much  larger  measure  of 
independence  under  socialism  than  it  does  to-day,  it  is 

*  "Neue  Staatslehre,"  2d  Edition,  pp.  199,  200. 

^  "The  Cooperative  Commonwealth,"  Boston,  1893,  p.  186. 


SOCIALISM   AND   THE   STATE  1 37 

not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  it  will  be  clothed  with  com- 
plete autonomy  or  the  power  to  pass  legislation  of  a  general 
character.  To  confer  such  powers  on  the  municipality 
would  mean  to  weaken  the  state  and  to  paralyze  its 
usefulness  as  a  factor  in  the  industrial  life  of  the  nation. 

The  state  being  thus  retained  under  socialism,  what 
will  be  the  political  form  of  its  administration  ?  Will  it  be 
republican  or  monarchic? 

To  the  American  reader  the  question  may  seem  idle, 
but  it  is,  nevertheless,  true  that  it  has  been  the  subject  of 
considerable  differences  of  opinion  in  the  ranks  of  the 
socialists  of  Europe. 

Of  the  early  socialist  writers  Saint-Simon  and  Fourier 
asserted  that  a  constitutional  monarchy  was  not  neces- 
sarily incompatible  with  socialism.  Karl  Rodbertus,  the 
friend  of  Ferdinand  Lassalle,  held  similar  views,  and  even 
Lassalle  himself  was  not  entirely  opposed  to  the  notion  of 
a  "social  kingdom." 

Of  the  modern  writers  on  socialism  Anton  Menger  seeks 
to  solve  the  problem  by  the  following  theory :  — 

"Like  all  great  questions  of  politics  between  princes 
and  nations,  this  is  a  question  of  power.  The  answer  de- 
pends upon  the  revolutionary  strength  of  the  nation  and 
upon  the  power  which  the  monarchy  has  attained  in  the 
course  of  its  historical  development.  Thus  the  socialist 
state  will  probably  appear  in  the  form  of  a  republic  in  the 
Latin  countries.  On  the  other  hand,  the  dynasties  of 
England,  Germany  and  other  Germanic  countries  may 
through  a  proper  policy  assure  the  maintenance  of  the 
monarchy  after  the  establishment  of  the  socialist  regime 
for  some  time,  perhaps  even  for  an  indefinite  period."  ^ 

*  "Neue  Staatslehre,"  pp.  171,  172. 


138     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

What  seems  to  lend  some  plausibility  to  this  peculiar 
conception  is  the  fact  that  the  Englishmen,  the  Germans 
and  the  other  Germanic  peoples  attribute  but  a  secondary 
importance  to  the  form  of  government  of  present  society. 
There  are  no  aggressive  republicans  in  England,  not  even 
among  the  socialists,  and  the  socialists  of  Norway,  after 
the  recent  separation  of  their  country  from  Sweden,  sub- 
mitted to  the  election  of  another  king  without  violent 
protest. 

The  sentiments  of  the  German  social-democrats  on  the 
respective  merits  of  the  republic  and  monarchy  were  well 
expressed  by  August  Bebel  in  the  International  Socialist 
Congress  at  Amsterdam  on  the  occasion  of  his  famous 
oratorical  duel  with  the  eloquent  leader  of  French  socialism, 
Jean  Jaures. 

"As  much  as  we  envy  you  Frenchmen  your  republic," 
exclaimed  he,  "and  as  much  as  we  wish  it  for  ourselves, 
we  will  not  allow  our  skulls  to  be  broken  for  it :  it  does  not 
deserve  it.  A  capitalist  monarchy  or  a  capitalist  repub- 
lic, —  both  are  class  states,  both  are  necessarily  and  from 
their  very  nature  made  to  maintain  the  capitalist  regime. 
Both  direct  their  entire  strength  in  the  effort  to  preserve  for 
the  capitalist  class  all  the  powers  of  the  legislature.  For 
the  moment  that  the  capitalist  class  will  lose  its  political 
power,  it  will  lose  also  its  social  and  economic  position. 
The  monarchy  is  not  so  bad  and  the  capitalist  republic  is 
not  so  good  as  you  picture  them."  * 

And  similarly,  A.  Labriola,  the  brilliant  young  leader 
of  the  extreme  wing  of  Italian  socialism,  declares:  — 

"Class  rule  does  not  express  itself  in  a  monarchical 

*  "Sixibme  Congres  Socialist  International,"  Compte-Rendu  Analy- 
tique,  Brussels,  1904,  p.  85. 


SOCIALISM   AND   THE   STATE  1 39 

form  of  government  or  in  a  republican  form  of  govern- 
ment, but  in  the  fact  that  one  group  of  men  exercise  the 
political  powers  in  their  own  interests.  We  must  learn 
to  understand  that  there  are  no  political  forms  which 
exclude  class  rule,  nor  such  which  make  it  inevitable."  ^ 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Frenchman  Benoit  Malon 
affirms  categorically :  — 

"Since  the  republic  is  the  political  form  of  human 
dignity,  the  states  which  will  be  founded  by  emancipated 
nations,  can  only  be  republican.  The  socialist  state  must 
be  a  federated  republic,  for  federalism  alone  combines  the 
respect  for  local  and  particular  needs  and  the  relative 
autonomy  of  secondary  political  organizations  (munici- 
palities, etc.)  with  the  great  interests  of  the  nations  freely 
constituted."  ^ 

On  the  whole  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  barring  per- 
haps some  peculiar  tricks  with  which  history  sometimes 
amuses  itself,  the  socialist  states  will  be  republics,  with  or 
without  presidents  or  other  individual  heads.  The  affairs 
of  the  socialist  republics  will  in  all  probability  continue 
to  be  conducted  by  representative  assemblies. 

The  modern  parliaments  owe  their  origin  to  the  capital- 
ist regime,  but  the  social  development  of  the  last  centuries 
seems  to  have  made  them  indispensable  for  the  demo- 
cratic management  of  the  affairs  of  every  large  and  com- 
plex state,  and  as  far  as  we  can  see  to-day,  a  socialist 
regime  cannot  offer  anything  better  as  a  substitute.  The 
old  town  meetings  and  other  direct  legislative  and  de- 
liberative bodies   of   citizens   may   be   practical   for   the 

1  Arturo  Labriola,  "Riforme  e  Rivoluzione  Sociale,"  Milan,  1904, 
p.  99. 

2  B.  Malon,  "Precis  de  Socialisme,"  Paris,  1892,  p.  297. 


140     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

regulation  of  purely  local  affairs  in  small  communities, 
but  they  are  entirely  inadequate  to  deal  with  complex 
problems  of  national  import.  Nor  can  the  institutions  of 
the  popular  Initiative  and  Referendum  take  the  place  of 
modern  representative  assemblies.  The  process  of  law- 
making requires  even  to-day  a  large  measure  of  skill, 
special  knowledge  and  precision.  The  enactment  of  a 
wise  law  or  regulation  presupposes  a  careful  deliberation 
over  its  main  object,  and  the  minute  and  searching  ex- 
amination of  its  separate  provisions.  In  many  cases  the 
original  project  is  modified  and  improved  before  adoption, 
and  the  law  as  finally  enacted  is  often  the  result  of  a  com- 
promise, more  or  less  satisfactory  to  all.  In  all  pro- 
gressive legislation,  furthermore,  there  must  be  a  certain 
consistency  and  continuity  of  idea,  —  a  system ;  and  this 
feature  will  be  more  essential  to  a  socialist  legislature, 
which  will  have  to  deal  with  the  most  vital  problems  of 
the  nation,  than  it  is  to  modern  legislative  bodies. 

But  such  systematic,  planful  and  elastic  legislation 
cannot  be  introduced  by  popular  Initiative  and  cannot 
be  enacted  by  popular  Referendum.  The  Initiative  is  in 
its  nature  spasmodic  and  often  inconsistent,  and  the 
Referendum  is  too  rigid  and  categorical  for  a  regular 
engine  of  the  popular  will.  The  Initiative  and  the  Ref- 
erendum are  excellent  institutions  in  conjunction  with 
parliaments.  As  preventives  and  correctives  of  legislative 
abuses  they  are  indispensable  to  every  true  democracy; 
they  cannot,  however,  do  away  with  representative  gov- 
ernment. 

But  if  representative  assemblies  should  be  retained  under 
socialism,  they  will  at  the  same  time  probably  be  modi- 
fied  very  largely  to   meet  the  requirements  of  greater 


SOCIALISM   AND   THE   STATE  14I 

democracy  and  to  comply  with  the  new  needs  and  func- 
tions of  the  commonwealth. 

The  Initiative  and  Referendum  will  probably  be 
established  in  conjunction  with  all  legislative  bodies,  and 
will  be  coupled  with  the  right  of  the  constituents  to  recall 
their  representative  at  all  times.  The  representatives  of 
the  people  will  furthermore  be  elected  by  the  votes  of  all 
adult  citizens,  male  and  female,  and  their  powers  will 
naturally  be  curtailed  by  the  limited  functions  of  a  so- 
cialist parliament. 

What  will  be  these  functions,  and  in  what  manner  will 
they  be  discharged? 

The  functions  of  national  government  to-day  may  be 
roughly  divided  under  two  main  heads  —  those  of  a  gen- 
eral administrative  or  political  character,  represented  by 
the  departments  of  foreign  affairs,  national  defense,  treas- 
ury, justice,  education,  insurance,  health,  fine  arts,  etc., 
and  those  of  a  character,  prevalently  industrial  or  economic, 
such  as  the  administration  of  posts,  railroads,  telegraphs, 
canals,  mines  and  other  national  industries  and  the  de- 
partments of  agriculture,  public  works,  etc. 

In  the  modern  state  the  political  functions  largely  pre- 
ponderate, and  the  economic  functions  occupy  but  a  sub- 
ordinate position.  This  is  natural  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
the  political  functions  of  the  present  state  are  largely 
exercised  for  the  benefit  of  the  ruling  classes.  Under 
socialism  the  industrial  activities  of  the  government  are 
bound  to  increase,  and  the  political  activities  to  diminish. 

The  division  of  the  governmental  functions  into  those 
of  a  political  and  those  of  an  economic  nature  has  given 
rise  to  the  hypothesis  that  the  socialist  parliament  will  re- 
main bi-cameral  —  the  political  chamber  taking  the  place 


142     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

of  the  lower  house  and  the  economic  chamber  that  of  the 
upper  house. 

"Does  any  one  believe  that  the  earth  will  cease  to  re- 
volve, if  the  present  upper  and  lower  houses  of  parliament, 
whose  division  does  not  correspond  to  anything,  shall  be 
replaced  by  a  political  chamber  and  an  economic  cham- 
ber?" queries  B.  Malon,  and  he  continues:  "The  po- 
litical chamber  might  be  elected  by  universal  suffrage  as 
our  present  representative  assemblies;  but  the  economic 
chamber,  the  larger  and  more  important  of  the  two, 
should  be  the  result  of  professional  elections,  with  proper 
regard  to  the  special  qualifications  of  the  elected,  so  that 
it  should  truly  represent  the  producers  and  workers  of  all 
categories."  ^ 

Anton  Menger  suggests  a  somewhat  similar  ar- 
rangement. "It  will  be  expedient,"  he  asserts,  "that 
legislation  in  the  socialist  state  shall  be  enacted  by  two 
chambers:  one  to  be  elective  and  to  be  subject  to  the 
democratic  tendencies  of  the  people,  the  other  to  be  aristo- 
cratic, but  to  be  composed  not  of  the  most  useless,  but  of 
the  really  best  members  of  the  state;"  and  such  "best 
members,"  according  to  Menger,  are  to  be  the  highest 
active  or  retired  state  officials  and  the  leading  representa- 
tives of  the  sciences,  arts  and  literature.^ 

The  notion  that  the  industrial  affairs  of  the  socialist 
state  will  not  be  administered  by  officers  elected  by  gen- 
eral popular  vote,  but  by  men  chosen  by  the  members  of 
each  separate  trade  and  calling  for  their  experience  and 
special  qualifications,  is  generally  accepted  by  the  socialists. 

Wilhelm  Liebknecht  suggests  that  the  most  important 

^  "  Precis  de  Socialisme,"  pp.  300,  301. 
*  "Neue  Staatslehre,"  pp.  179,  180. 


SOCIALISM   AND   THE   STATE  1 43 

work  of  legislation  and  administration  be  performed  by 
committees  of  experts  instead  of  parliaments/  and  Annie 
Besant,  in  a  somewhat  vivid  flight  of  imagination,  says: 
"One  may  guess  that  in  each  nation  all  the  Boards  of 
communal  authorities  will  ultimately  be  represented  in 
some  central  Executive  or  Industrial  Ministry;  that  the 
Minister  of  Agriculture,  or  Mineral  Industries,  or  Textile 
Industries,  and  so  on,  will  have  relations  with  similar 
officers  in  other  lands;  and  that  thus,  internationally  as 
well  as  nationally,  cooperation  will  replace  competition."  ^ 

*  "Ueber  die  politische  Stellung  der  Sozialdemokratie,"  9th  Edition, 
Berlin,  1893,  p.  5. 

-  "Industry  under  Socialism,"  in  Fabian  Essays,  American  Edition, 
Boston,  1894,  p.  147. 


CHAPTER  VI 

SOCIALISM  AND   POLITICS 

Politics,  Representative  Government  and  Political  Parties 

Practical  politics  may  be  defined  as  the  art  or  action 
of  guiding  or  influencing  the  poHcy  of  a  government,  or 
the  effort  to  obtain  control  of  or  influence  over  the  powers 
of  government.  * 

And  it  is  essential  for  the  first  part  of  this  definition 
that  the  guidance  and  influence  to  which  it  refers,  should 
not  be  exercised  by  the  organized  government  itself,  but 
by  persons  or  parties  outside  of  it.  The  difference  be- 
tween Administration  and  Politics  is  just  this,  that  the 
former  consists  in  the  direct  management  of  public  affairs 
by  the  persons  officially  vested  with  the  power  and  charged 
with  the  duty  to  manage  them,  while  the  latter  is  an 
indirect  management  secured  through  influence  or  power 
over  the  public  oflicial. 

In  absolute  monarchies  the  powers  of  government  are 
concentrated,  at  least  theoretically,  in  the  person  of  the 
autocrat;  hence  the  political  influence  and  functions  of  the 
country  are  confined  to  the  small  circle  of  persons  who 

*  "In  the  narrower  and  more  usual  sense,  Politics  is  the  act  or  vocation 
of  guiding  or  influencing  the  poHcy  of  a  government  through  the  organi- 
zation of  a  party  among  its  citizens."  —  Century  Dictionary. 

"The  administration  of  public  affairs  or  the  conduct  of  political  mat- 
ters so  as  to  carry  elections  and  secure  public  offices."  —  Standard 
Dictionary. 

144 


SOCIALISM  AND   POLITICS  1 45 

alone  have  the  opportunity  to  come  in  frequent  contact 
with  the  person  of  the  monarch  —  the  high  nobiHty  and 
the  dignitaries  of  the  church.  PoHtics  in  such  countries 
is  conducted  principally  through  the  medium  of  court 
cliques;  its  objects  are  usually  the  personal  advantages 
and  preferment  of  a  set  of  individuals  or  a  caste;  its 
methods  are  those  of  intrigue  and  conspiracy,  and  the 
climax  of  such  politics  is  a  palace  or  dynastic  revolution. 

Countries  of  a  constitutional  form  of  government,  on 
the  other  hand,  are  bound  to  evolve  politics  of  an  entirely 
different  type.  The  head  of  a  constitutional  government, 
whether  he  be  designated  king  or  president,  is  but  one 
wheel  in  the  administrative  machinery  of  the  state.  His 
powers  are  limited  by  a  constitution,  and  the  active  and 
vital  functions  of  government  are  vested  in  bodies  of 
popular  representatives  —  the  national  parliaments,  state 
legislatures  and  municipal  councils.  In  order  to  guide  or 
influence  the  policies  of  such  a  government,  it  is  no  longer 
sufficient  to  gain  the  good  graces  of  the  chief  executive; 
it  becomes  necessary  to  enlist  the  support  or  obedience  of 
a  majority  of  the  representative  assembly. 

This  shifting  of  the  field  of  political  operation  en- 
tails a  chain  of  radical  changes  in  the  methods,  aims  and 
objects  of  modern  politics.  The  representative  assemblies 
are  large  bodies  of  men,  frequently  of  divergent  views  and 
interests ;  their  power  is  temporary,  and  its  continuance  de- 
pends upon  the  confidence  of  their  constituencies;  their 
deliberations  and  actions  are  public  and  open  to  the 
scrutiny  of  the  people;  their  actions  must,  therefore^  be 
such  as  will  be  reasonably  certain  to  meet  with  the  ap- 
proval of  at  least  that  portion  of  the  population  whose 
support  is  indispensable  to  their  public  careers. 

L 


146     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

Under  normal  conditions  the  individual  and  unsup- 
ported political  intriguer,  plotting  for  his  own  preferment 
or  for  that  of  the  small  clique  of  his  friends  or  confederates, 
is  thus  obviously  powerless  to  influence  a  popular  govern- 
ment to  an  appreciable  degree.  He  disappears  in  politics 
with ,  the  disappearance  of  the  absolute  state,  and  his 
place  is  taken  by  the  large  body  of  citizens,  banded  to- 
gether permanently  for  the  purpose  of  controlling  the 
government,  ostensibly  in  the  interests  of  the  people  as  a 
whole  according  to  their  views  of  the  needs  of  the  people, 
but  actually  in  the  interest  of  a  given  class  or  section  of 
the  population,  as  we  shall  endeavor  to  show  presently. 
The  most  direct  way  to  control  the  government  which 
naturally  suggests  itself  to  such  a  body  of  citizens,  is  to 
place  men  of  their  own  midst  in  the  administration,  and 
its  ultimate  aim  is,  therefore,  to  elect  a  majority  of  the 
representatives  in  the  popular  assembHes  and  of  other 
governmental  and  public  functionaries.  Thus  arises  the 
modern  political  party  with  its  strong  and  ramified  or- 
ganization, its  platforms,  issues  and  electoral  campaigns. 
And  in  practice  we  observe  that  the  origin  of  organized 
political  parties  coincides  in  each  country  with  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  parliamentary  regime.  "They  are  a  neces- 
sary evil  in  free  government,"  as  De  Tocqueville  puts 
it.» 

The  British  Parliament  has  largely  served  as  a  model 
for  all  other  constitutional  countries,  and  the  life  of  that 
body  in  its  modern  form,  as  the  real  repository  of  the 
political  power  of  the  country,  may  be  dated  from  the 
meeting  of  the  Long  Parliament  in  1640,  when  the  House 
of  Commons  deprived  the  crown  of  its  two  most  essential 

*  Alexis  de  Tocqueville,  "Democracy  in  the  United  States,"  p.  i86. 


SOCIAIJSM   AND   POLITICS  1 4/ 

prerogatives  —  the  power  to  levy  taxes  and  the  right  to 
dissolve  Parliament  indefinitely,  and  to  the  Bill  of  Rights, 
which  practically  vested  all  legislative  functions  of  the 
United  Kingdom  in  Parliament.  Prior  to  the  Long 
Parliament  there  were  no  fixed  poHtical  parties  in  the 
modern  sense  in  England,  but  the  next  year  already  wit- 
nesses the  formation  of  the  first  two  distinct  and  well- 
defined  parties  of  England,  the  Cavaliers  and  the  Round- 
heads; and  these  parties,  subsequently  known  as  Whigs 
and  Tories,  and  still  later  as  Liberals  and  Conservatives, 
gradually  changing  their  aims  and  methods  of  warfare 
with  the  changed  conditions  of  the  advancing  centuries, 
reappear  as  the  leading  factors  in  all  political  struggles  of 
England,  from  the  stormy  days  of  the  Long  Parliament 
down  to  our  own  time. 

In  France  there  were  no  organized  political  parties 
prior  to  the  revolutionary  Constituent  Assembly  of  1789, 
but  when  the  first  National  Assembly  or  parHament  met 
in  1 791,  after  the  adoption  of  a  constitution  for  the  re- 
public, it  found  itself  at  once  divided  into  at  least  four 
distinct  political  parties  —  the  Royalists,  who  yearned  for 
a  return  to  the  old  regime;  the  Feuillants  or  constitutional 
monarchists,  the  Girondists  or  moderate  republicans,  and 
the  Montagnards  or  radical  republicans. 

With  the  accession  of  Napoleon  and  the  smothering  of 
parliament  and  constitution,  political  party  life  disappears 
in  France,  but  with  the  restoration  and  the  new  grant  of  a 
constitution  and  parliament,  the  new  political  parties  of 
the  Moderates  and  Independents  immediately  spring  into 
being. 

In  Germany  the  modern  political  parties  date  partly 
from  the  days  of  the  Frankfort  Assembly  in  1848,  and 


148     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

partly  from  the  establishment  of  the  North  German  Union 
in  1867. 

The  colonies  of  the  United  States  knew  little  of  politi- 
cal parties,  and  held  such  institutions  in  scant  esteem. 
"Throughout  the  eighteenth  century,"  remarks  Henry 
Jones  Ford,  "  party  was  regarded  as  a  gangrene,  a  cancer 
which  patriotic  statesmen  should  combine  to  eradicate."  * 
But  immediately  following  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence, and  even  before  the  formal  adoption  of  the  national 
constitution  of  the  new  republic,  the  Federalists  and 
Anti-FederaHsts  appeared  in  the  public  arena  as  full- 
fledged  political  parties,  and  while  these  parties  have 
since  repeatedly  changed  their  issues  and  watchwords, 
and  have  finally  settled  on  the  party  names  of  Republican 
and  Democratic,  they  rule  to-day  the  poHtics  of  the 
United  States  as  absolutely  and  effectively  as  any  political 
parties  in  the  world. 

In  Italy  the  modern  political  parties  appear  imme- 
diately after  the  accomplishment  of  the  unification  of 
the  country  as  a  constitutional  monarchy.  In  Austria, 
Hungary,  Belgium  and  Holland  the  grant  or  conquest  of 
a  constitution  was  in  every  case  regularly  followed  by  the 
formation  of  political  parties;  in  Russia  the  grant  of  a 
mere  phantom  of  a  constitution  was  the  immediate  signal 
for  the  spontaneous  creation  of  a  number  of  political 
parties. 

Constitutions,  representative  government  and  political 
parties  are  thus  intimately  and  indissolubly  correlated 
with  each  other;  they  have  a  common  origin,  and  together 
they  constitute  one  historical  phase  in  the  development  of 

*  "The  Rise  and  Growth  of  American  Politics,"  New  York,  1898, 
p.  90. 


SOCIALISM   AND   POLITICS  1 49 

our  political  institutions  —  the  phase  corresponding  on  the 
whole  to  the  modern  or  capitalist  economic  system. 

Just  as  the  fixed  absolute  state  is  the  most  appropriate 
form  of  government  of  a  rigorous  feudal  society,  so  is  the 
flexible  representative  system  the  ideal  form  of  govern- 
ment of  the  modern  state  of  free  competitive  producers. 

The  rise  of  representative  government  and  political 
parties  marks  in  all  countries  the  ascendency  of  the 
modern  industrial  classes  over  the  landowning  classes 
formerly  in  power. 

It  is  true  we  find  in  history  abundant  mention  of  par- 
liaments and  popular  assemblies  antedating  by  centuries 
the  modern  capitalist  system,  and  some  of  them  tracing 
their  origin  to  hoary  antiquity.  But  while  these  institu- 
tions may  have  had  a  remote  influence  on  the  shaping 
and  forms  of  the  modern  parliaments,  they  certainly 
had  nothing  in  common  with  their  present  substance  and 
function. 

The  essential  features  of  every  modem  representative 
assembly  may  be  summarized  as  follows :  — 

1.  It  is  an  independent  governmental  organ,  whose  ex- 
istence and  permanence  are  guaranteed  by  a  constitution 
which  represents  the  supreme  law  of  the  land. 

2.  It  meets  at  regular  intervals. 

3.  It  has  the  power  to  grant  or  veto  the  taxes  or  budget 
of  the  state. 

4.  It  is  either  vested  with  supreme  legislative  powers 
or  it  acts  as  a  check  upon  the  legislative  powers  of  the 
crown. 

5.  The  cabinet  ministers  are  directly  or  indirectly  under 
its  control. 

6.  As  a  rule  it  is  bi-cameral. 


I50     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND    MOVEMENT 

7.  The  lower  house,  at  least,  is  representative  in  char^ 
acter,  and  its  members  are  chosen  by  and  accountable 
to  the  citizens  entitled  to  vote. 

Neither  the  mediaeval  English  Parliament,  nor  any 
other  popular  assembly  of  the  early  or  middle  periods  of 
our  era  possessed  these  attributes. 

"The  mediaeval  Parliament,"  says  Edward  Jenks, 
"  represented  the  estates  of  the  realm,  viz. :  nobles,  clergy, 
yeomen  or  peasants,  and  craftsmen. 

"But  two  things  about  it  are  well  worth  noticing:  — • 

"  {a)  It  was  not,  in  any  ordinary  sense  of  the  term,  a 
popular  institution.  On  the  other  hand,  for  many  years 
after  its  appearance,  it  was  intensely  unpopular,  both 
with  'constituencies'  and  representatives.  .  .  .  All  hated 
it,  because  a  Parliament  invariably  meant  taxation.  The 
members  themselves  disliked  the  odium  of  consenting  to 
taxes  which  their  constituents  would  have  to  pay.  Only 
by  the  most  stringent  pressure  of  the  Crown  were  Parlia- 
ments maintained  during  the  first  century  of  their  exist- 
ence; and  the  best  proof  of  this  assertion  lies  in  the  fact, 
that  in  those  countries  in  which  the  Crown  was  weak. 
Parliament  ultimately  ceased  to  assemble.  The  notion 
that  Parliaments  were  the  result  of  a  spontaneous  demo- 
cratic movement  can  be  held  by  no  one  who  has  studied, 
ever  so  slightly,  the  facts  of  history. 

"  {h)  Parliament,  at  any  rate  the  representative  part  of 
it,  was,  in  the  origin,  concerned  solely  with  the  granting  of 
money.  The  nobles  were,  it  is  true,  hereditary  councilors 
of  the  Crown;  but  the  clerical  proctors,  and  the  members 
of  the  counties  and  boroughs,  could  claim  no  such  position. 
There  was  no  pretense  of  such  a  thing  in  the  early  days  of 
Parliament."    It  was  liability,  and  not  privilege,  which  was 


SOCIALISM  AND   POLITICS  151 

the  basis  of  Parliamentary  representation;  it  was  the  old 
idea  of  seizure  of  the  village  elders  (for  ransom),  carried 
out  on  a  magnificent  scale."  ^ 

These  rather  humiliating  functions  of  the  early  Par- 
liaments are  by  no  means  peculiar  to  England.  The 
French  States-General  were  convoked  by  the  king  when- 
ever he  needed  money.  Their  duties  consisted  in  making 
grants,  and  their  rights  in  presenting  grievances  or  peti- 
tions, and  the  king  as  a  rule  forced  the  former  and  ignored 
the  latter.  The  three  Estates  of  France,  the  Nobility,  the 
Clergy  and  the  Commons  or  Third  Estate,  formed  three 
independent  chambers,  deliberating  and  voting  separately, 
the  decision  of  any  of  the  two  chambers  being  binding  on 
the  third.  And  as  the  Nobility  and  Clergy  were  exempt 
from  taxation  and  otherwise  mostly  united  in  interest  as 
against  the  burgesses  and  peasantry,  the  Assembly  of 
Estates  usually  resulted  in  a  hesivy  tax  imposed  by  the 
first  two  Estates  upon  the  third.  Once  in  a  while  the 
rebellious  representatives  of  the  "third  estate"  would  re- 
fuse to  "register"  the  royal  edict  for  new  taxes.  In  such 
cases  the  king  would  personally  appear  in  the  session  and 
compel  the  recalcitrant  commons  to  register  his  edicts. 
This  peculiar  procedure  was  for  some  reason  styled  "Hi 
de  justice''  — bed  of  justice. 

The  mediaeval  German  Diet  was  composed  of  the  per- 
sonal representatives  of  the  numerous  reigning  princes  of 
the  empire  and  a  few  representatives  of  the  cities.  It  had 
no  important  or  useful  functions  to  perform  and  no  real 
power  over  the  country. 

The  early  Polish  Diet  was  merely  a  council  of  the  nobles, 
and   the   early   Russian   Assemblies   were   convoked   on 

*  Edward  Jenks,  "History  of  Politics,"  London,  1900,  pp.  132,  133. 


152      THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

critical  occasion,  ordinarily  for  the  purpose  of  furnishing 
the  government  with  money  and  arms. 

As  to  the  ancient  Teutonic  and  Anglo-Saxon  assemblies, 
the  witenagemotes,  they  have  even  less  claim  to  the  title 
of  parliament  in  the  modern  sense  than  the  mediieval 
bodies.  They  were  practically  nothing  but  councils  of 
elders  or  chiefs,  with  little  or  no  binding  powers. 

And  just  as  the  pre-capitalistic  "parliaments"  have 
nothing  in  common  with  the  modern  institution  of  that 
name,  so  have  the  pre-capitahstic  "parties"  no  affinity 
with  the  political  parties  of  the  modern  type. 

Historians  sometimes  designate  as  parties  the  followers 
of  hostile  princes  contending  for  a  throne,  or  the  scattered 
adherents  of  a  religious  creed  or  even  a  scientific  theory. 
In  that  rather  loose  sense,  parties  have,  of  course,  existed 
at  all  times.  But  it  requires  more  than  the  mere  common 
adherence  to  a  person  or  theory  to  make  a  political  party. 

No  aggregation  of  individuals  can  be  properly  styled  a 
political  party  unless  they  are  bound  together  by  a  com- 
mon social  and  political  ideal  and  by  planned  and  organized 
action  aimed  at  the  maintenance  or  realization  of  that 
ideal;  the  two  most  vital  features  of  every  political  party 
are:   unity  of  principle  and  unity  of  action. 

And  here  we  arrive  at  the  most  baffling  aspect  of  the 
political  party  —  the  mysterious  union  of  principle,  which 
lends  harmony  and  continuity  to  the  modern  political  or- 
ganization, and  enables  it  to  survive  all  changing  political 
situations  and  issues.  It  cannot  be  mere  casual  agreement 
on  abstract  ideas  and  theories,  for  frequently  we  see  a 
party  as  a  whole  abandon  its  original  views  and  adopt 
new  and  altogether  different  grounds  and  issues.  The 
history  of  the  last  century  is  replete  with  instances  of 


SOCIALISM   AND   POLITICS  I  53 

parties  which  were  formed  for  specific  political  objects, 
and  remained  intact  and  active  long  after  those  objects 
had  been  fully  accomplished. 

Nor  can  it  be  mere  compatibility  of  temper  that  holds 
vast  masses  of  individuals  together  in  definite  political 
parties,  for  every  political  party  of  any  significance  unites 
within  its  fold  men  of  all  conceivable  dispositions  and  in- 
clinations. 

The  force  that  cements  the  members  of  a  political  party 
together  is  obviously  not  to  be  looked  for  in  the  intellectual 
or  psychic  world.  It  must  be  found  in  the  more  realistic 
sphere  of  our  existence  —  the  material  interests  of  the 
special  classes  of  modern  society  represented  by  each  of 
the  political  parties. 

Classes  and  Class  Struggles  in  Modern  Society 

One  of  the  cardinal  doctrines  of  modern  socialism  is 
the  doctrine  of  the  "class  struggle." 

The  inhabitants  of  every  state,  as  was  casually  mentioned 
in  the  preceding  chapters,  may  always  be  divided  into 
several  groups  of  persons  with  reference  to  their  source  of 
income  or  mode  of  acquiring  the  material  means  of  their 
existence.  Within  each  group  the  single  individuals  may 
strive  for  the  largest  possible  share  of  the  common  income, 
but  as  against  all  the  other  elements  of  society,  each  of 
such  groups  is  interested  in  the  maintenance  and  increase 
of  its  special  revenue  or  material  wealth.  Each  of  such 
social  groups  constitutes  a  separate  "class"  of  society, 
and  the  characteristic  features  of  every  class  are  these : 
its  individual  members  are  united  in  their  general  economic 
interest  with  each  other,  and  as  a  whole  they  are  opposed 


154     THE    SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND    MOVEMENT 

to  all  other  classes  contending  with  them  for  their  share  of 
the  national  wealth. 

The  existence  of  classes  thus  creates  the  instincts  of 
class  solidarity  and  class  antagonism,  and  the  socialists 
contend  that  the  efforts  of  each  class  to  maintain  or  improve 
its  position,  and  the  resultant  conflicts  between  them,  con- 
stitute the  politics  of  the  nations  and  make  their  histories. 

The  doctrine  of  the  class  struggle  in  its  present  finished 
form  was  first  proclaimed  in  "  The  Communist  Manifesto," 
which  was  drafted  by  the  principal  theoretical  founders  of 
modern  socialism,  Karl  Marx  and  Frederick  Engels,  in 
1848,  and  is  there  stated  in  the  following  terse  and  cogent 
language : — 

"The  (recorded)  history  of  all  hitherto  existing  society 
is  the  history  of  class  struggles. 

"Freeman  and  slave,  patrician  and  plebeian,  lord  and 
serf,  guild  master  and  journeyman,  in  a  word,  oppressor 
and  oppressed,  stood  in  constant  opposition  to  one  another, 
carried  on  an  uninterrupted,  now  hidden,  now  open,  fight, 
that  each  time  ended  either  in  revolutionary  reconstitution 
of  society  at  large,  or  in  the  common  ruin  of  the  contending 
classes. 

"In  the  earlier  epochs  of  history  we  find  almost  every- 
where a  complicated  arrangement  of  society  into  various 
orders,  a  manifold  gradation  of  social  rank.  In  ancient 
Rome  we  have  patricians,  knights,  plebeians,  slaves;  in 
the  Middle  Ages,  feudal  lords,  vassals,  guild  masters,  jour- 
neymen, apprentices,  serfs;  in  almost  all  of  these  classes, 
again,  subordinate  gradations. 

"The  modern  bourgeois  society  that  has  sprouted  from 
the  ruins  of  feudal  society,  has  not  done  away  with  class 
antagonisms.     It  has  but  established  new  classes,  new 


SOCIALISM   AND   POLITICS  155 

conditions  of  oppression,  new  forms  of  struggle  in  place 
of  the  old  ones. 

"  Our  epoch,  the  epoch  of  the  bourgeois,  possesses,  how- 
ever, this  distinctive  feature;  it  has  simplified  the  class 
antagonisms.  Society  as  a  whole  is  more  and  more  split- 
ting up  into  two  great  hostile  camps,  into  two  great  classes 
directly  facing  each  other:  Bourgeoisie  and  Proletariat."^ 

The  principal  classes  in  modern  society  are  thus,  accord- 
ing to  Marx  and  Engels,  the  classes  of  the  "Bourgeoisie" 
and  the  "Proletariat,"  and  a  few  words  must  be  said  here 
in  explanation  of  these  terms  very  current  in  the  literature 
of  socialism. 

"Bourgeois,"  literally  a  "townsman,"  was  originally  a 
term  used  in  opposition  to  that  of  gentle  or  nohle,  and  signi- 
fied a  manufacturer  or  tradesman.  The  class  of  the  "  bour- 
geoisie," in  an  economic  sense,  has  come  to  stand  for  the 
entire  propertied  class:  it  includes  the  modern  manufac- 
turer, money  lender,  and  even  the  landowner  who  employs 
his  land  for  industrial  or  other  business  purposes.  It  is 
the  entire  "third  estate,"  less  the  wage  workers. 

The  term  "Proletariat"  is  borrowed  from  the  political 
nomenclature  of  ancient  Rome,  where  it  was  used  to 
denote  the  class  of  free  citizens  without  property  or  assured 
means  of  existence.  ^    In  a  more  restricted  and  technical 

^  "The  Communist  Manifesto,"  New  York,  Socialist  Cooperative 
Publishing  Assn.,  1901,  pp.  10,  11. 

^  The  etymological  derivation  of  the  term  is  by  no  means  free  from 
doubt.  The  Roman  grammarians,  and  most  of  the  modern  writers  after 
them,  derive  it  from  the  word  "proles"  —  descendants,  and  interpret 
the  original  meaning  of  proletariat  as  a  descendant-begetting  or  child- 
bearing  class.  The  Austrian  philologist,  Stowasser,  recently  suggested 
the  derivation  of  the  word  from  "pro-oletarius,"  i.e.,  substitute  for  ma- 
nure worker,  hired  slave  or  common  wage  laborer. 

"Deutsche  Worte,"  September,  1901,  quoted  in  Neue  Zeit  of  October  2, 
1901. 


156     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

sense,  the  word  Proletarian  signifies  a  workingman  who 
does  not  own  his  tools  of  labor,  a  wage  worker;  but  in  its 
wider  application  it  embraces  the  entire  propertyless  class 
of  workers.  Thus  we  speak  not  only  of  the  "industrial" 
proletarian,  but  also  of  the  "agricultural"  proletarian, 
the  farmer  who  does  not  own  his  land,  or  the  hired  farm 
hand;  and  even  of  the  "intellectual"  proletarian,  the  pro- 
fessional who  depends  upon  an  unsteady  and  uncertain 
hiring  out  of  his  talents  for  a  living. 

Such  then  are  the  main  characteristics  of  the  two  prin- 
cipal classes  of  modern  society,  the  Bourgeoisie  and  Proleta- 
riat, or  Capitalists  and  Workingmen,  and  the  antagonism 
between  them  to  which  the  authors  of  "  The  Communist 
Manifesto"  refer,  is  the  conflict  of  material  interests  which 
springs  from  their  mutual  economic  relations. 

The  principal  wealth  of  modern  society  is  represented 
by  an  accumulation  of  commodities  owned  by  individual 
competing  capitalists  and  used  for  the  purpose  of  exchange. 
The  process  of  modern  industry  is  a  process  of  manufacture 
and  exchange  of  such  commodities.  All  wealth  is  created 
in  that  process,  and  all  profits  are  derived  through  it.  The 
different  commodities  exchange  for  each  other  at  their 
actual  value;  hence,  the  accumulation  of  profit  and  wealth 
must  not  be  looked  for  in  the  process  of  exchange,  but  in 
the  process  of  production. 

The  value  of  a  commodity  is  determined  by  the  average 
social  labor  expended  on  its  production,  and  if  the  manu- 
facturing capitalist  should  pay  to  the  laborer  a  wage 
equivalent  to  the  products  of  his  labor,  there  would  remain 
no  margin  of  profit  for  him,  and  the  hoarding  up  of  indi- 
vidual wealth  would  be  impossible.  But,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  the  manufacturing  capitalist  does  not  return  to  the 


SOCIALISM   AND   POLITICS  1 57 

workingman,  in  the  form  of  a  money  wage,  commodities 
of  a  value  representing  his  full  hours  of  labor,  but  only 
such  quantity  as  will  enable  him  to  maintain  his  existence 
according  to  the  established  standard  of  living  and 
to  reproduce  his  species.  Thus  assuming  that  the 
quantity  of  food,  clothing  and  other  necessaries  of  a  work- 
ingman's  life  per  day  are  produced  in  six  hours  of  average 
social  labor  time,  his  wages  will  represent  the  portion  of 
his  labor  equivalent  to  six  hours,  and  if  he  works  ten  hours 
per  day,  the  product  of  the  remaining  four  hours  of  his 
labor  is  appropriated  by  his  employer. 

Since  the  individual  capitalist  owns  the  tools  without 
which  no  labor  can  be  performed  in  modern  society,  and 
the  laborer  owns  nothing  but  his  ability  to  work  —  his  la- 
bor power,  the  workingman  is  compelled  to  sell  that  labor 
power  to  the  capitalist  for  a  fixed  daily  wage.  His  labor 
power  is  sold  to  the  capitalist  to  be  used  for  a  day  of  a 
duration  of  eight,  ten  or  twelve  hours,  according  to  agree- 
ment, and  the  products  of  his  labor  are  divided  between 
him  and  his  employer.  The  portion  of  such  labor  that 
falls  to  the  share  of  the  workingman  is  his  wage,  and  the 
portion  retained  by  the  manufacturing  capitalist  Marx 
calls  "surplus  value." 

The  "surplus  value"  of  the  manufacturing  capitalist  is 
by  no  means  his  clear  profit ;  as  a  rule,  he  is  forced  to  di- 
vide it  with  the  landlord,  the  money  lender  and  the  mer- 
chant. "Surplus  value"  is  the  source  of  all  profits  of  the 
manufacturing  and  '  trading  capitalists,  the  rents  of  the 
landowning  capitalists,  and  the  interest  of  the  money-lend- 
ing capitalists.  Thus  the  capitalists  of  all  types  depend 
upon  the  production  of  "surplus  value,"  while  the  working 
class  depends  upon  wages.     Since  wages  and  "surplus 


158     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

value"  come  from  the  same  source,  i.e.,  labor  power, 
it  is  clear  that  the  proportion  of  the  one  will  be  relatively 
larger  as  the  proportion  of  the  other  is  relatively  smaller, 
and  vice  versa;  in  other  words,  the  greater  the  share  of 
capital  in  the  created  values,  the  smaller  the  share  of  labor. 

The  economic  interests  of  capital  and  labor  are,  there- 
fore, opposed  to  each  other,  and  while  it  is  in  the  interest 
of  the  class  deriving  its  income  from  "surplus  value"  to 
maintain  the  present  system  of  distribution  of  wealth,  the 
interests  of  the  working  class  lie  in  the  abolition  of  that 
system. 

These  are  the  main  lines  on  which  the  modern  class 
struggles  are  conducted,  but  a  closer  analysis  of  the  process 
will  show  that  they  are  by  no  means  the  sole  lines  of  modern 
class  division. 

The  capitalists  or  bourgeoisie  constitute  but  one  class 
in  their  common  interest  to  exploit  the  working  class,  but 
among  themselves  they  are  separated  in  many  groups 
with  reference  to  the  special  interests  of  the  respective 
fields  of  their  operation.  The  three  main  forms  of  capi- 
talist revenue,  rent,  interest  and  profits,  spring,  as  we  have 
seen,  from  the  same  source,  the  "surplus  value"  of  the 
producing  capitalists;  and  the  shares  of  these  three  cate- 
gories of  income  stand  in  inverse  relation  to  each  other. 
It  is,  of  course,  conceivable  that  rent,  interest  and  profits 
may  rise  simultaneously,  at  the  expense  of  the  working  class 
and  the  consumers,  but  they  need  not  and  do  not  always 
increase  in  equal  proportions,  and  the  total  quantity  of 
"surplus  value"  remaining  equal,  an  increase  of  rents  or 
a  rise  of  the  rate  of  interest  will  signify  a  lowering  of  profits, 
and  vice  versa.  The  three  main  economic  divisions  of 
capitalists,  dependent  on  the  three  forms  of  income  men- 


SOCIALISM   AND   TOLITICS  1 59 

tioned,  the  rent-gathering  landowner,  the  interest-drawing 
money  lender,  and  the  profit-making  manufacturer  and 
merchant,  are  thus  by  no  means  united  in  interest  between 
themselves.  The  money  lender  or  banker  exploits  the 
mortgaged  landowner  and  the  borrowing  industrial  alike, 
while  the  owner  of  the  factory  site  and  store  property  ex- 
ploits the  manufacturer  and  merchant  with  equal  thorough- 
ness. Nor  is  the  industrial  group  of  the  capitalist  class 
always  a  unit  in  interests:  the  interests  of  the  manufac- 
turers usually  run  counter  to  those  of  the  sellers,  and  vice 
versa;  and  even  within  the  manufacturing  class  the  interests 
of  separate  trades  are  frequently  opposed  to  each  other  — 
for  instance,  where  the  producers  of  one  certain  commodity, 
a  finished  article,  are  the  consumers  of  the  products  of 
another  class  of  manufacturers,  those  engaged  in  the 
production  of  materials. 

As  compared  with  the  divergent  interests  of  the  capital- 
ists among  themselves,  the  interests  of  the  working  class 
are,  on  the  whole,  harmonious.  The  workingmen  are 
frequently  forced  to  compete  with  each  other  for  employ- 
ment, which,  as  a  rule,  results  in  a  general  reduction  of 
wages.  But  this  competition  is  no  evidence  of  a  conflict 
of  interest  among  different  groups  of  workingmen;  on 
the  contrary,  its  efifect  is  strong  proof  of  the  solidarity  of 
their  interests;  and  the  recognition  of  the  pernicious  effects 
of  their  competition  ultimately  leads  the  workers  to  a  more 
compact  class  organization.  No  group  of  workingmen 
benefits  by  the  fall  of  wages  of  another  group,  no  class  of 
workingmen  exploits  another  class ;  hence,  there  exists  no 
economic  cause  for  antagonism  between  the  workingmen 
of  the  different  trades. 

We  have  thus  described  and  analyzed  the  two  main 


l6o     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

classes  of  modern  society  and  their  component  parts.  But 
between  and  besides  them  there  are  several  economic 
groups  which  cannot  properly  be  classed  with  the  one  or 
the  other  —  the  groups  characterized  by  the  general  desig- 
nation of  the  "middle  classes."  These  consist  of  small 
merchants,  manufacturers  and  farmers,  who,  while  they 
own  their  business,  implements  or  land,  and  sometimes 
employ  hired  labor,  still  extract  but  little  "surplus  value," 
and  chiefly  depend  for  their  living  upon  their  own  efforts. 
The  members  of  the  middle  class  are  engaged  in  a  strenuous 
and  losing  battle  for  the  maintenance  of  their  economic 
independence  against  the  invading  large  industries.  Their 
hope  is  to  develop  some  day  into  large  and  wealthy  capi- 
talists, their  fate  most  commonly  is  to  succumb  to  the 
superior  means  and  organization  of  the  great  industries, 
and  to  find  refuge  in  the  employment  of  their  victorious 
rivals  or  to  be  forced  down  to  the  ranks  of  the  wage  laborer. 
By  their  sympathies  and  sentiments,  these  men  incline 
towards  the  capitalist  class,  by  their  immediate  economic 
interests  they  are  arrayed  against  it,  and  at  times  they 
break  out  in  a  feeble  or  more  vigorous  revolt  against  om- 
nivorous capitalism. 

Another  middle-class  group  of  considerable  impor- 
tance is  that  of  the  "intellectuals"  in  the  direct  employ  of 
the  capitalists;  the  managers,  superintendents,  foremen, 
engineers,  accountants,  clerks,  etc.  The  economic  posi- 
tion of  these  is  similar  to  that  of  the  proletarian 
wage  worker,  inasmuch  as  they  are  also  hired  by  their 
employers  and  paid  a  fixed  remuneration  for  their 
services,  but  it  is  different  with  respect  to  the  size  of  that 
remuneration.  The  average  income  of  the  men  of  this 
class    is  frequently  larger  than  that  of  the  middle-class 


SOCIALISM  AND   POLITICS  l6l 

manufacturers,  traders  or  farmers;  they  are  styled  "em- 
ployees," not  "workingmen"  ;  they  receive  "salaries," 
not  "wages,"  and  by  their  education,  social  environment, 
tastes  and  habits,  they  feel  themselves  more  akin  to  the 
capitalist  class  than  to  the  working  class. 

And  finally  we  must  mention  the  variety  of  the  mid- 
dle class  known  as  the  "professionals,"  i.e.,  physicians, 
lawyers,  clergymen,  teachers,  journalists,  artists,  etc. 
These  constitute  a  class  by  themselves.  They  do  not 
operate  with  capital,  and  their  incomes  are  not  derived 
from  exploitation  of  labor,  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  do  they 
as  a  rule  sell  their  labor  or  talents  to  a  permanent  individual 
employer  in  return  for  a  fixed  periodical  compensation. 
They  are  "free"  practitioners,  who  sell  their  services  to 
whomsoever  pays  for  them  from  time  to  time.  The  men  of 
this  group  usually  find  their  most  remunerative  clientele 
among  the  possessing  class,  and  place  their  skill  and  talent 
at  the  disposal  of  that  class.  It  is  from  among  this  group 
that  the  capitalists  primarily  gather  the  apologists  and 
defenders  of  their  class  interests,  their  "retainers,"  to 
borrow  an  expression  from  W.  J.  Ghent.*  But  the  pro- 
fessionals are  not  permanently  tied  to  the  dominant  classes. 
They  are  alert  in  perceiving  every  coming  social  change, 
and  whenever  a  new  class  enters  upon  a  promising  cam- 
paign to  displace  the  old  order,  these  professionals  desert 
their  former  patrons  in  large  numbers  and  place  them- 
selves at  the  head  of  the  new  movement. 

The  Class  Struggle  in  Politics 

In  the  preceding  pages  we  have  attempted  to  outline 
the  main  class  divisions  in  modern  society.     In  the  general 

*  "Mass  and  Class,"  New  York,  1905. 

M 


1 62     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 

struggle  for  social  existence,  each  of  these  classes  of  ne- 
cessity seeks  to  fortify  its  economic  position  by  the  strong 
arm  of  the  state.  The  dominant  and  possessing  class  as  a 
whole  needs  the  protection  of  the  state,  its  laws,  courts  of 
justice,  police  power,  and  sometimes  even  its  armed  force 
to  preserve  its  "vested  rights"  and  privileges  and  to  main- 
tain its  power  over  the  working  class ;  and  within  the  capi- 
talist class  each  interest  group  needs  the  special  services 
and  support  of  the  state  against  the  hostile  groups  of  other 
interests.  The  transportation  industries  need  charters, 
grants  and  franchises,  the  manufacturing  industries  want 
subsidies  and  protective  import  tariffs  on  manufactured 
articles,  while  they  oppose  tariffs  on  food  stuffs;  the  agri- 
cultural landowning  class,  on  the  other  hand,  demands  a 
high  tariff  on  imported  food  stuffs,  but  combats  the  tariff 
on  articles  of  foreign  manufacture;  the  commercial  classes 
generally  strive  for  a  free  trade  policy;  the  debtor  classes 
see  their  salvation  in  anti-usury  laws  and  debased  currency ; 
the  money-lending  class  requires  a  solid  and  unchangeable 
monetary  standard;  the  small  manufacturers  and  traders 
endeavor  to  avert  the  threatening  ruin  of  their  economic 
independence  by  the  enactment  of  laws  against  combination 
and  concentration  of  capital,  while  the  workingmen  look 
to  the  government  for  protection  against  excessive  capi- 
talist exploitation.  In  short,  each  class  and  group  strives 
to  make  the  state  subservient  to  its  economic  interests,  to 
retain  or  capture  the  powers  of  government  for  its  own 
special  purposes. 

It  is  this  phase  of  the  class  struggle  which  constitutes 
modern  politics,  and  the  economic  classes  and  interest 
groups  participating  in  it,  correspond,  roughly  speaking, 
to  the  political  parties  or  factions  in  each  country.   Thus  we 


SOCIALISM  AND   POLITICS  163 

find  in  every  constitutional  country  of  Europe,  whatever 
the  elements  of  its  political  life  may  otherwise  be,  at  least 
three  definite  political  parties :  the  Conservative,  the  Lib- 
eral and  the  Socialist.  In  Germany  and  Austria,  they  are 
directly  known  under  those  names;  in  England  the  politi- 
cal party  corresponding  in  its  general  features  to  the  So- 
cialist Party  in  continental  Europe  is  known  as  the  Labor 
Party;  in  Belgium  and  Holland  the  Clerical  Party  prac- 
tically takes  the  place  of  the  Conservative  Party ;  in  France 
the  Conservative  and  Liberal  parties  sometimes  are  known 
under  the  names  of  the  Party  of  Resistance  and  the  Party 
of  Movement,  but  under  whatever  name  or  guise  they  may 
appear  here  or  there,  they  uniformly  present  the  distinc- 
tive features  of  class  parties.  The  Party  of  the  Conserva- 
tives is  always  in  substance  the  party  of  the  landowning 
class.  In  countries  of  feudal  antecedents  it  represents  in 
the  first  instance  the  descendants  of  the  landowning  and 
privileged  nobility,  and  its  political  ideal  is  the  reconstruc- 
tion of  the  old  regime  and  the  restoration  of  the  political 
powers  of  the  aristocracy  of  birth  —  the  party  is  usually 
opposed  to  all  progress  and  reform. 

The  Liberal  Party  is  the  party  par  excellence  of  the 
modern  bourgeoisie.  It  represents  the  interests  of  in- 
dustry and  commerce.  In  most  countries  it  is  the  party 
in  power,  and  the  aims  of  its  politics  are  to  maintain  it  in 
power.  It  favors  such  moderate  and  gradual  reforms  as 
tend  to  destroy  the  feudal  remnants  in  modern  European 
society  without  in  any  way  endangering  the  supremacy 
of  the  class  represented  by  it.  Its  political  interests  and 
ideals  coincide  on  the  whole  with  the  present  regime,  — 
it  is  the  party  of  the  present. 

The  Socialist  Party  is  the  party  of  the  workingmen  who 


164     THE   SOCIALIST   rillLOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 

have  drawn  the  last  conclusion  from  their  struggles  with 
capitalism.  Its  ideal  is  a  cooperative  commonwealth  based 
on  the  collective  ownership  of  the  social  instruments  of 
wealth  production.  Its  social  ideal  is  not  inspired  by  the 
fabulous  "golden  age"  of  the  past,  but  is  founded  on  the 
anticipated  results  of  social  progress,  —  it  is  the  party  of 
the  future. 

Side  by  side  with  these  three  main  parties  representing 
the  three  principal  classes  of  society,  there  exists  in  most 
countries  of  Europe  a  party  generally  known  as  the  Radi- 
cal Party.  This  is  the  party  of  the  middle  class,  and  its 
political  activity  is  the  expression  of  the  last  struggles  of  a 
class  doomed  to  economic  annihilation  between  the  upper 
grindstone  of  capitalist  competition  and  the  nether  grind- 
stone of  proletarian  organization  and  aggressiveness. 

Paul  Louis  characterizes  this  party  in  the  following 
language : — 

"It  is  composed  of  men  whose  social  condition  is  ill 
defined,  who  are  neither  satisfied  nor  crushed,  but  who 
feel  themselves  menaced  and  strive  to  fortify  their  position. 
These  men  desire  to  conquer  the  political  power  in  order 
to  break  the  instruments  of  the  material  or  moral  domina- 
tion of  the  great  industries  and  properties.  .  .  .  They 
demand  fiscal  reforms  which  would  permit  them  to  tax 
the  large  revenues  and  to  place  artificial  fetters  on  the 
mechanical  concentration  of  capital.  .  .  .  Nowhere  do 
they  constitute  a  coherent  party,  for  nothing  is  more  fugi- 
tive than  its  contingent."  * 

In  the  countries  of  Europe  we  thus  find  all  principal 
economic  classes  and  interest  groups  represented  by  sep- 
arate and  well-defined  political  parties.     The  only  excep- 

*  "L'Avenir  du  Socialisme,"  Paris,  1905,  pp.  105,  106. 


SOCIALISM   AND   POLITICS  1 65 

tion  seems  to  be  presented  by  the  money-lending  group  of 
capitalists,  who,  as  a  rule,  do  not  form  parties  of  their  own. 
This,  however,  may  perhaps  be  accounted  for  by  the  func- 
tion of  money  capital,  which  can  become  operative  only 
in  connection  with  the  other  forms  of  capitalistic  owner- 
ship, but  has  no  independent  productive  existence. 

All  other  permanent  political  parties  of  continental  Eu- 
rope are  but  slight  variations  of  the  four  types  described. 

In  the  United  States  of  America,  where  the  economic 
development  of  the  country  has  not  passed  through  the 
stage  of  feudalism,  and  where  there  exist  no  remnants  of  a 
feudal  economy  or  of  a  class  of  privileged  nobles,  there  is, 
of  course,  no  room  for  a  Conservative  Party  in  the  Euro- 
pean sense,  and  the  parties  of  the  propertied  classes  are 
formed  on  different  lines.  The  Republican  Party  is  sub- 
stantially the  party  of  the  modern  capitalists,  correspond- 
ing in  its  main  characteristics  to  the  Liberal  parties  of 
Europe,  while  the  Democratic  Party  is  largely  the  party 
of  the  middle  class,  the  small  business  man  and  farmer, 
and  bears  some  resemblance  to  the  Radical  parties  of 
European  countries. 

Such  then,  generally  speaking,  are  the  leading  char- 
acteristics and  motive  forces  of  the  modern  political  parties, 
but  in  practice  their  formative  processes  and  workings 
are  by  no  means  so  clear-cut  and  simple.     , 

In  the  complex  relations  of  modern  society,  it  is  some- 
times exceedingly  difficult  to  determine  the  exact  line  of 
class  divisions.  It  is  not  always  easy  to  determine  when 
a  man  ceases  to  be  workman  and  becomes  a  member  of 
the  middle  class,  nor  whether  he  is  to  be  classed  as  a 
"middleman"  or  capitalist;  and  within  the  capitalist  class 
especially  it  becomes  more  and  more  difficult  to  divide  its 


1 66     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

members  into  definite  interest  groups.  The  extensive  de- 
velopment of  stock  companies  within  the  last  decades  has 
largely  broken  down  the  rigid  lines  of  special  interest 
groups  within  the  possessing  class,  and  the  typical  capitalist 
of  to-day  may  and  frequently  does  own  at  the  same  time 
stock  in  banks,  in  real  estate  concerns  and  in  industrial 
and  commercial  enterprises. 

The  economic  mainsprings  of  politics  are,  besides,  as  a 
rule  deeply  hidden  below    the    surface.     With  the  sole 
possible  exception  of  the  working  class  in  the  countries 
of  the  most  advanced  industrial  development,  there  is  not 
a  single  class  or  interest  group  large  enough  to  conquer 
and  hold  the  modern  governmental  machinery  by  its  own 
numbers.     Each  of  the  classes  contending  for  the  political 
mastery  of  the  country  is,  therefore,  bound  to  seek  the  sup- 
port of  other  classes  or  their  individual  members,  and  this 
it  can  obviously  not  receive  for  the  mere  and  avowed 
advancement  of  its  naked  class  interests.     To  overcome 
the  difficulty,  the  dominant  political  parties  are  thus  in- 
stinctively led  to  conceal  rather  than  expose  their  class 
character;  they  make  concessions  or  hold  out  promises  to 
all  classes  of  the  population,  and  by  their  official  platforms 
and  public  declarations  they  pretend  to  strive  for  the  com- 
mon welfare  of   the  whole   population.     The  interests  of 
the  classes  represented  by  them  are  thus  generalized  into 
the  interests  of  the  entire  nation,  and  their  striving  for 
political  power  masquerades  as  a  struggle  for  lofty  political 
ideals.     These  false  pretensions  are  sometimes  formulated 
consciously  and  intentionally  by  the  shrewd  party  leaders, 
but  perhaps  more  often  the  active  political  party  workers, 
and  especially  its  passive  supporters,  fully  believe  in  their 
sincerity;    hence,  we  find  the  capitalist  and  middle-class 


SOCIALISM   AND   POLITICS  167 

parties  of  all  countries  largely  supported  by  working- 
men,  and,  generally  speaking,  there  is  hardly  a  political 
party  whose  constituent  elements  are  wholly  recruited  from 
one  homogeneous  class. 

"It  is  not  contended,"  says  W.  J.  Ghent,  "that  men  are 
always,  or  even  generally,  conscious  of  the  economic  mo- 
tive that  impels  them.  Far  less  is  it  to  be  contended  that 
they  are  aware  of  the  influence  laid  upon  the  exercise  of 
that  motive  by  the  prevailing  economic  environment.  The 
consciousness  of  their  motives  is  often  but  dim  and  vague, 
and  that  motive  which  they  believe  dominant,  a  mere 
illusion."  ^ 

And  moreover,  the  economic  motive,  while  it  is  the  domi- 
nant factor,  is  not  the  sole  factor  in  politics.  In  times  of 
threatened  foreign  invasion,  the  defense  of  the  country 
may  become  a  paramount  political  issue  of  equal  impor- 
tance to  all  classes  of  the  population,  and  when  a  govern- 
ment represents  nothing  but  the  autocratic  power  of  a  small 
clique,  and  becomes  equally  oppressive  on  all  classes  of 
society,  as  is  the  case  for  instance  in  Russia,  all  political 
parties  may  well  unite  in  a  common  program  of  opposition. 
In  times  of  special  agitation  an  ideological  sentiment  may 
become  a  political  issue  of  great  force  and  break  down  all 
established  party  lines.  At  other  times,  especially  when 
the  dominant  class  is  safely  intrenched  behind  the  powers 
of  government  without  vital  disputes  between  its  dif- 
ferent interest  groups  and  without  the  menace  of  a  strong 
working  class  political  party,  politics  degenerates  into  a 
question  of  mere  individual  spoils  and  patronage. 
•  "Mass  and  Class,"  p.  12. 


l68     THE  SOCIALIST  PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 


5t 


The  Socialist  Party  in  Politics 


In  the  general  political  struggles  of  the  classes,  the 
Socialist  Party,  as^_wa^  stated  above,  represents  the 
working  class.  This  statement,  however,  requires  some 
qualification  and  explanation. 

The  Socialist  Party  represents  in  politics  primarily  the 
general  immediate  and  ultimate  interests  of  the  working 
class  as  a  whole.  Its  program  consists  of  a  number  of 
planks  calculated  to  strengthen  the  proletariat  in  its 
struggles  with  the  dominant  classes  and  to  lessen  the  degree 
of  its  exploitation  by  the  latter,  and  it  culminates  in  the 
demand  for  the  complete  economic  enfranchisement  of 
the  working  class.  Since  the  power  of  the  dominant 
classes  over  the  workingmcn  is  based  on  the  ownership 
by  the  former  of  the  social  tools  and  instruments  of  wealth 
production,  the  cardinal  point  of  the  socialist  political 
platform  is  the  demand  for  the  abolition  of  private  owner- 
ship in  these  means  of  production. 

The  socialist  ideal  is  a  state  of  society  based  on  organized 
and  cooperative  work  of  all  individuals  capable  of  perform- 
ing work,  and  on  an  equitable  distribution  of  the  products 
of  such  joint  labor  among  all  the  members  of  the  com- 
munity. The  Socialist  Party,  the  only  party  which  frankly 
recognizes  the  class  character  of  the  contemporary  state 
and  politics,  is  at  the  same  time  the  only  party  which  ad- 
vocates the  abolition  of  all  class  distinctions.  All  other 
political  parties,  while  they  ignore  or  deny  the  fact  of  the 
class  struggle,  either  stand  for  the  preservation  of  the 
present  class  relations  or  strive  merely  for  the  shifting  of 
power  from  one  of  the  existing  classes  to  the  other.    The 


SOCIALISM  AND   POLITICS  169 

Socialist  Party  alone  has  thus  a  certain  right  to  claim  that 
it  represents  the  interests  of  the  whole  society. 

The  Socialist  Party  is,  however,  preeminently  a  working- 
men's  party,  for  the  reason  that  its  ultimate  aim  coincides 
primarily  with  the  interests  of  the  working  class,  while  it  is 
a  menace  to  the  privileges  and  immediate  economic  in- 
terests of  the  possessing  classes.  Recognizing  that  the 
vast  majority  of  men  are  moved  by  economic  motives, 
the  socialists  make  their  appeal  in  the  first  line  to  the 
working  class,  and  as  a  rule  the  Socialist  parties  actually 
recruit  their  adherents  mostly  from  that  class. 

But  the  w^orkingmcn  are  by  no  means  the  sole  supporters 
of  socialism.  Its  ranks  are  continually  swelled  by  members 
of  the  middle  classes,  and  by  large  numbers  of  ideologists 
from  all  classes  of  society,  including  those  of  the  capitalists. 
These  bourgeois  ideologists  come  into  the  socialist  move- 
ment either  because  they  perceive  in  its  lofty  social  ideal 
the  realization  of  justice  and  freedom,  or  because  they 
have  become  convinced,  through  a  scientific  analysis  of 
modern  tendencies  of  social  and  economic  development, 
of  the  inevitability  of  socialism.  The  founders  of  theoret- 
ical socialism  were  men  of  that  type,  and  the  leaders  of 
the  socialist  movement  in  all  countries  recruit  themselves 
principally  from  among  that  class. 

The  socialist  movement  did  not  enter  the  arena  of  uni- 
versal history  as  a  practical  political  movement.  In  its 
inception  it  was  purely  a  philosophical  school  indulging 
occasionally  in  miniature  social  experiments,  and  inter- 
fering in  concrete  political  movements  only  by  way  of 
exception.!^  In  1848,  Marx  and  Engels  still  proclaimed 
that  the  "communists  (the  term  then  employed  for  the 
modern  word  Socialist)  do  not  form  a  separate  party  op- 


170     THE   SOCIALIST  PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

posed  to  other  working  class  parties,"  and  as  late  as  1867, 
when  the  German  subjects  were  granted  universal  suffrage 
in  elections  to  the  North  German  Diet,  the  socialists  of 
that  country  seriously  debated  the  question  whether  they 
should  take  part  in  these  elections,  or  scornfully  reject 
"the  gift  of  Bismarck,"  and  abstain  from  voting. 

The  reasons  for  the  reluctance  of  the  socialists  of  the 
earlier  period  to  engage  in  politics  are  quite  obvious. 

In  the  first  place,  the  movement  in  its  more  modern 
phase  was  only  in  its  inception,  and  the  number  of  its 
adherents  was  quite  small.  But  it  is  numbers  more  than 
issues  that  count  in  political  campaigns. 

In  the  next  place,  the  franchise  of  the  workingmen,  the 
class  upon  whom  the  socialists  primarily  relied  for  their 
support,  was  in  most  countries  of  Europe  monstrously 
restricted.  In  Germany  universal  manhood  suffrage  was 
confined  to  elections  to  the  powerless  North  German  Diet, 
but  the  more  important  municipal  and  state  elections  were 
then  as  now  based  on  the  "three-class  system,"^  which 
reduced  the  working-class  vote  to  a  minimum,  or  on  a 
property  test,  which  had  the  same  effect. 

*  Elections  on  the  "three-class  system"  are  by  "categories."  The 
voters  are  divided  into  three  classes:  the  first  including  the  largest  tax- 
payers paying  together  one-third  of  the  taxes;  the  next,  those  paying  an- 
other third  of  the  taxes  in  the  second  largest  amounts;  and  the  last  class, 
including  the  remainder  of  the  people.  Each  class  elects  the  same  num- 
ber of  delegates  to  the  conventions  that  choose  the  councilors  or  deputies. 
The  result,  of  course,  is  always  to  return  an  assembly  representative  of 
the  property  interests,  and  quite  unrepresentative  of  the  masses. 

In  the  elections  of  1893  to  the  Prussian  Landtag  5,989,538  voters  took 
part.     Of  these  only  210,759  constituted  the  first  class,  the  second  con- 
sisted  of    722,633,   while   the   third   class   embraced   all   the   remaining 
5,056,146.     The  933,392  citizens  of  the  first  two  classes  could  thus  en- 
tirely outvote  their  5,000,000  fellow-citizens  of  the  poorer  classes. 


SOCIALISM   AND   POLITICS  I /I 

In  Italy  and  Belgium  the  right  to  vote  in  parliamentary 
elections  was  restricted  to  citizens  paying  direct  taxes  of 
specified  minimal  amounts,  and  qualified  by  a  property 
test,  with  the  result  that  in  the  former  country  there  were 
in  1879  only  7.77  electors  for  each  100  male  adults,  while 
in  the  latter  the  voters  constituted  but  little  above  2  per 
cent  of  the  population  in  1874.  Similar  conditions  existed 
in  Holland,  Hungary,  Austria,  Sweden  and  Norway. 
In  England  the  expenses  of  the  electoral  campaigns  were 
borne  by  the  electors,  as  they  still  are,  and  were  prohib- 
itively high  for  the  workingmen.  (Within  the  last  decades 
the  electoral  laws  in  many  European  countries  have  been 
somewhat  reformed  in  the  direction  of  greater  liberalism.) 

Besides,  in  most  countries  it  was  only  the  lower  house  of 
parliament  that  was  elective,  membership  in  the  upper 
house  was  mostly,  as  it  still  remains  in  many  cases,  heredi- 
tary or  appointive,  and  the  composition  of  these  bodies 
was  frequently  such  as  to  blast  all  hopes  of  a  progressive 
parliamentary  policy.  Thus  the  upper  house  or  senate 
of  Italy  was  composed  of  princes  of  the  royal  family  and 
other  dignitaries  of  the  realm,  more  than  40  years  of  age, 
and  chosen  by  the  king  from  among  the  archbishops, 
bishops,  ministers  of  the  cabinet,  admirals,  generals  and 
very  heavy  taxpayers.  In  Hungary,  the  upper  house 
consisted  of  3  princes  of  the  reigning  house,  31  Roman  and 
Greek  Catholic  prelates,  11  "standard  bearers,"  57  lord 
lieutenants,  3  dukes,  219  counts  and  81  barons.  What 
a  chance  a  democratic  lower  house  would  have  for  the 
cooperation  of  such  a  chamber  ! 

Moreover,  the  early  socialist  leaders  had  serious  mis- 
givings about  the  effects  of  an  electoral  activity  on  the 
morale  of  the  socialist  masses.    The  parliamentary  elec- 


1/2     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

tions,  they  argued,  could  result  in  but  little,  if  any,  benefit 
to  the  working  class,  but  they  might  tend  to  divert  it  from 
the  consistent  stand  of  revolutionary  opposition,  and  from 
the  straight  path  of  education  and  economic  struggle. 

But  still  more  than  the  demoralizing  effects  of  electoral 
campaigns  upon  the  movement,  the  socialists  feared  the 
corrupting  influences  of  parliamentary  life  upon  the  chosen 
representatives  of  their  party.  They  were  inclined  to  view 
the  European  parliaments,  with  their  limited  powers,  as 
assemblies  whose  principal  function  was  to  cultivate  in 
their  members  the  fine  art  of  talking;  talking  not  for  the 
sake  of  convincing,  but  for  the  purpose  of  shining,  and  such 
talk,  they  reasoned,  is  calculated  to  deaden  the  revolution- 
ary spirit  of  the  orator,  to  arouse  his  personal  vanity  and 
ambition,  and  to  degrade  him  into  a  shallow  demagogue. 
The  views  on  the  efficiency  of  parliamentary  activity  prev- 
alent among  the  socialists  of  that  time  were  very  similar 
to  those  recently  expressed  by  the  French  socialist  writer, 
Paul  Louis,  who  says:  — 

"Never  has  a  great  decision  capable  of  briskly  accelerat- 
ing the  course  of  history,  emanated  from  a  parliament. 
Parliaments,  even  when  elected  by  universal  suffrage, 
occupy  a  position  similar  to  that  of  the  academies;  they 
regard  the  past,  they  defend  the  existing  status;  by  their 
temperament,  their  procedure  and  byzantine  exactness, 
they  soon  paralyze  all  men  of  action  who  may  penetrate 
there."  ' 

Furthermore,  they  contended,  for  the  socialist  move- 
ment parliamentary  activity  could  never  be  anything  but  a 
useless  farce.  As  long  as  the  socialist  deputies  shall 
remain  in  the  minority,  they  will  be  powerless  to  influence 

'  "L'Avenir  du  Socialisme,"  Paris,  1905,  pp.  72,  73. 


SOCIALISM   AND    POLITICS  1 73 

the  actions  of  Parliament,  and  when  the  party  shall  be 
strong  enough  to  elect  a  clear  majority  of  the  members  of 
any  parliament,  the  country  will  be  ripe  for  the  social 
revolution,  and  the  cumbersome  machinery  of  Parliament 
will  become  useless. 

Besides,  their  strict  and  rigid  interpretation  of  the  class- 
struggle  theory  made  them  doubt  the  wisdom  of  deliberat- 
ing and  cooperating  with  the  representatives  of  the  hostile 
camps  in  joint  council.  "  Wer  mit  Feinden  parlamentelt, 
parlamentirt,  wer  parlamentirt,  paktirt!"  tersely  decreed 
the  veteran  leader  of  German  Social  Democracy,  Wilhelm 
Liebknecht.^ 

But  as  against  these  possible  disadvantages,  the  socialists 
were  bound  to  consider  the  following  features  of  political 
and  parliamentary  activity  as  positive  advantages  for  their 
cause : — 

The  times  of  active  electoral  campaigns  are  peculiarly 
propitious  for  the  discussion  of  social,  economic  and  politi- 
cal theories ;  hence  they  ofifer  an  excellent  opportunity  for 
the  propaganda  of  socialism  among  the  broad  masses  of  the 
people,  and  that  opportunity  is  largely  enhanced,  if 
socialism  is  made  one  of  the  direct  issues  of  the  campaign. 
And  not  only  are  political  campaigns  important  as  mediums 
of  effective  propaganda,  they  are  also  useful  as  periodical 
reviews  of  the  socialist  forces.  The  number  of  votes  which 
the  socialists  poll  at  general  elections  is  one  of  the  surest 
gauges  of  the  progress  made  by  the  movement  in  each 
country  among  the  masses  of  the  population,  and  nothing 

'  "Ueber  die  politische  Stellung  der  Sozialdemocratie,"  Berlin,  1893, 
p.  12.  The  sentence  is  very  difficult  to  render  in  English.  Its  mean- 
ing is  about  as  follows:  "He  who  discusses  with  the  enemy,  negotiates 
with  him,  and  he  who  negotiates,  compromises." 


174     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOFIIY   AND   MOVEMENT 

stimulates  growth  so  much  as  the  proof  of  growth.  Then, 
again,  parliament  is  a  platform  from  which  the  popular 
representative  addresses  not  only  his  colleagues,  but  prac- 
tically the  entire  nation,  and  the  socialist  deputies  thus  are 
afforded  a  rare  chance  for  the  propaganda  of  their  party 
principles  on  a  large  scale. 

The  practical  aim  of  the  Socialist  Party,  moreover,  is 
the  capture  of  the  powers  of  government  by  the  working 
class  in  order  that  it  might  transform  the  state  from  an 
instrument  of  class  exploitation  into  a  cooperative  common- 
wealth. But  the  working  class  cannot  accomplish  these 
tasks  unless  it  is  well  organized  and  trained  in  the  art  of 
politics  and  administration,  and  practical  political  activity 
is  best  calculated  to  give  it  that  organization  and  training. 

And  finally,  the  socialists  by  no  means  disdain  all  partial 
reforms,  and  parliamentary  activity  opens  to  them  the 
opportunity  to  urge  and  the  chance  to  pass  reforms  of 
actual  benefit  to  the  working  class. 

These,  then,  were  the  doubts  and  questions,  the  pros  and 
cons  which  met  the  sociaHsts  at  the  threshold  of  their 
political  career,  and  while  the  leaders  were  discussing  the 
theoretical  aspects  of  the  problem,  the  mass,  as  usual  in 
practical  questions,  solved  it,  and,  as  usual,  solved  it  right. 
The  socialists  went  into  politics  yielding  to  the  instincts 
of  the  masses,  rather  than  following  the  reasoned  policies 
of  the  leaders. 

Electoral  Tactics  of  the  Socialist  Party 

The  tactics  and  policies  of  every  party  must  necessarily 
be  such  as  will  be  best  calculated  to  insure  its  political 
success  at  a  given  time  and  place.     They  must  be  shaped 


SOCIALISM   AND   POLITICS  1/5 

to  meet  the  special  conditions  of  each  country  and  period, 
and  must  change  with  the  change  of  these  conditions. 
Political  tactics  are  never  immutable,  and  they  are  not  even 
as  stable  as  poHtical  programs.  But  v^hile  the  tactics 
of  a  political  party  are  variable  and  changing,  such  varia- 
tions and  changes  are  as  a  rule  neither  very  radical  nor 
very  sudden.  The  policy  of  every  party  must  in  the  last 
analysis  be  determined  by  and  subordinated  to  its  main 
aims  and  objects,  its  political  platform,  and  as  long  as  the 
latter  remains  in  force,  the  former  changes  but  slightly. 

These  general  principles  of  party  policy  apply  to  the 
Socialist  Party  with  even  greater  force  than  to  the  other 
parties.  The  socialist  platform  is  the  only  political  plat- 
form which  is  practically  identical  in  its  main  features 
and  important  details  in  all  civilized  countries;  the  prin- 
cipal aims  of  socialism  are  not  those  of  local  or  temporary 
reform,  but  of  permanent  and  radical  social  reconstruction ; 
the  socialist  methods  of  warfare  were  not  evolved  from 
casual  and  fleeting  conditions,  but  from  general  and  firmly 
established  social  and  economic  relations;  hence  the  main 
points  of  socialist  tactics  are  bound  to  be  practically  uni- 
form and  fixed  as  long  as  the  present  social  system  lasts. 
And  as  a  matter  of  fact,  we  observe  that  while  the  details 
of  socialist  policy  and  tactics  vary  in  every  country,  and  are 
modified  with  every  economic  and  political  change,  its 
most  salient  features  are  identical  everywhere,  and  have 
undergone  but  little  change  since  the  days  when  the  So- 
cialist Party  first  established  itself  in  practical  poHtics. 

The  most  striking  characteristic  of  all  socialist  tactics 
is  the  political  isolation  of  the  party,  its  reluctance  to  fuse 
or  combine  with  other  parties  in  electoral  campaigns. 
The  Socialist  Party  usually  makes  independent  nomina- 


176      THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

tions  for  public  office  regardless  of  the  prospects  of  imme- 
diate success  in  the  election.  As  a  rule  it  does  not  unite 
with  other  parties  on  a  common  electoral  Hst  or  "ticket," 
it  does  not  nominate  non-socialists  on  its  own  ticket,  it 
does  not  support  candidates  of  other  parties,  and  its  mem- 
bers do  not  accept  nominations  or  even  indorsements  from 
other  parties. 

This  poHcy  of  isolation  has  its  good  reasons.  In  theory 
it  is  the  logical  and  inseparable  sequel  of  the  class  struggle 
doctrine.  Viewed  from  that  standpoint  there  can  be  no  ac- 
tual solidarity  of  interest,  at  least  under  normal  conditions, 
between  the  Socialist  Party  which  strives  to  overthrow  the 
present  regime,  and  the  various  parties  of  the  propertied 
classes  which  are  interested  in  upholding  it.  A  political 
union  between  the  Socialist  Party  and  any  other  party  can 
be  accomplished,  therefore,  only  on  the  basis  of  a  compro- 
mise which  of  necessity  entails  the  concealment  or  aban- 
donment of  the  most  vital  principles  of  socialism.  And 
the  Socialist  Party  is  invariably  the  loser  by  such  combina- 
tion. Experience  has  abundantly  demonstrated  that 
whenever  a  party  of  the  propertied  classes  has  invited 
the  political  cooperation  of  the  working  class,  the  latter 
has,  with  few  exceptions,  been  used  by  it  as  a  cat's  paw  for 
the  furtherance  of  its  own  class  interests.  The  working 
class  has  never  derived  a  substantial  or  lasting  benefit  from 
such  an  illogical  alliance,  but  the  latter  has  frequently 
served  to  bring  in  demoralization  and  disorganization  in  its 
ranks.  Many  young  and  promising  revolutionary  move- 
ments have  been  smothered  by  such  compromises  with 
the  enemy,  and  the  fate  of  the  numerous  short-lived  politi- 
cal labor  movements  in  the  United  States  is  very  strong 
proof  of  the  truth  of  this  assertion.     Nor  is  even  the  un- 


SOCIALISM   AND   POLITICS  1 77 

solicited  support  of  the  bourgeois  parties  always  without 
danger  to  socialism  in  politics.  The  socialist  candidates 
elected  by  non-socialist  votes  tacitly  assume  certain  moral 
obligations  towards  this  class  of  voters,  and  when  elected 
they  can  rarely  maintain  the  uncompromising  attitude  of 
the  purely  socialist  representative.  The  socialists  are, 
therefore,  inclined  to  reject  such  political  support,  arguing 
with  the  Roman  poet  —  "Timeo  Danaos  et  dona  ferentes" 
—  I  fear  the  Greeks  even  if  they  bear  gifts. 

But  with  all  that  the  rule  of  uncompromising  socialist 
tactics,  like  every  other  rule  of  human  conduct,  is  not 
entirely  free  from  exceptions.  It  is  apt  to  be  observed 
most  rigorously  and  inflexibly  in  the  earlier  days  of  the 
socialist  movement  in  every  country,  when  that  movement 
has  not  yet  passed  the  phase  of  pure  theoretical  propa- 
ganda and  has  not  yet  become  a  real  factor  in  practical 
politics. 

"There  is  no  need  of  compromising  while  the  entire 
activity  of  the  party  is  limited  to  oral  and  written  propa- 
ganda and  the  purely  theoretical  defense  of  party  prin- 
ciples, which  saves  them  from  contamination  by  any 
foreign  elements,"  observes  S.  Kotlyarevski.^ 

And,  it  may  be  added,  not  only  is  there  no  justification 
for  a  compromising  policy  in  the  early  phases  of  the  social- 
ist movement,  but  there  is  every  reason  against  it.  While 
scientific  theories  or  social  philosophies  are  new,  it  is 
always  their  novel  and  striking  features,  the  features  dis- 
tinguishing them  from  the  accepted  theories  and  philoso- 
phies, that  receive  the  greatest  emphasis.  And  only 
when  such  new  theories  or  philosophies  gain  considerable 
currency  or  following,  are  their  main  propositions  sub- 

*  "Partii  i  Nauka,"  in  Polyarnaya  Svesda  for  January,  1906. 


178     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 

jected  to  a  more  minute  and  critical  analysis,  and  their 
qualifications  and  exceptions  noted.  The  uncompromis- 
ing and  uncriticising  propaganda  of  new  ideas  is  useful 
and  even  necessary  in  the  early  stages  for  their  popular 
dissemination.  And  a  practical  movement  based  on  such 
new  ideas  has  besides  a  special  interest  in  guarding  its 
pristine  purity  and  complete  independence  in  the  critical 
period  of  its  inception  or  formation,  for  it  is  then  that  it 
can  be  diverted  or  absorbed  by  foreign  elements  with  the 
greatest  ease. 

But  with  the  spread  of  the  socialist  movement  and  the 
growth  of  the  Socialist  Party,  new  problems  present  them- 
selves. When  the  party  becomes  so  numerous  as  to  con- 
stitute a  factor  of  importance  in  the  politics  and  parlia- 
ment of  any  country,  but  not  numerous  enough  to  control 
them  by  its  own  strength,  the  temptation  to  enlist  the  co- 
operation of  other  progressive  parties  for  the  purpose  of 
accomplishing  some  immediate  practical  reforms  becomes 
great.  Impatient  cries  are  raised  within  the  party  urging 
political  combinations  for  such  purposes,  and  are  met  by 
the  warning  voices  of  the  more  conservative  leaders  tena- 
ciously adhering  to  the  class-struggle  tactics. 

How  do  the  socialists  generally  meet  the  new  situation  ? 

In  a  preceding  chapter  we  observed  that  even  in  our 
present  class  state  there  are  certain  political  situations  in 
which  the  immediate  interests  of  classes  otherwise  hostile 
may  occasionally  coincide. 

In  countries  of  feudal  origin  it  is  generally  in  the  com- 
mon interest  of  the  progressive  bourgeoisie  and  the  work- 
ing class  to  remove  the  surviving  feudal  remnants  from 
the  social  and  political  structure  of  their  countries,  since 
such  remnants  are  often  an  impediment  to  all  social  prog- 


SOCIALISM  AND  POLITICS  1 79 

ress,  and  in  the  countries  of  restricted,  plural  or  qualified 
suffrage,  the  Radical,  Liberal  and  Socialist  parties  have 
sometimes  an  equal  interest  in  extending  the  suffrage. 

The  extension  of  popular  suffrage,  more  especially,  is 
of  the  greatest  vital  importance  to  the  Socialist  Party,  since 
the  latter  can  hardly  make  any  political  progress,  still 
less  conquer  the  political  powers  of  the  country,  in  the 
absence  of  equal  and  universal  suffrage. 

This  situation  is  the  key  to  the  solution  of  the  problem. 
The  socialists  often  combine  with  other  progressive  parties 
for  the  attainment  of  these  common  purposes;  they  com- 
bine but  rarely  for  any  other  purposes. 

Thus  Ferdinand  Lassalle,  the  founder  of  the  Social 
Democratic  Party  of  Germany,  outlined  the  tactics  of  the 
proposed  party  in  his  famous  "Open  Letter"  addressed 
to  the  workingmen  of  Leipsic  in  1863,  in  the  following 
language : — 

"  The  working  class  must  constitute  itself  into  an  inde- 
pendent political  party,  and  must  make  the  demand  for 
universal,  equal  and  direct  suffrage,  the  watchword  and 
motto  of  that  party.  ...  It  must  feel  and  constitute 
itself  as  a  party  entirely  distinct  and  separated  from  the 
Progressive  (Liberal)  Party;  it  must  nevertheless  support 
the  Progressive  Party  in  those  points  and  questions  in 
which  the  interests  of  the  two  parties  are  identical,  but  turn 
its  back  upon  it  and  actively  oppose  it  as  often  as  it  aban- 
dons these  interests."  ^ 

When  the  English  Reform  League  was  organized  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  much-needed  reforms  in  the  mode 
of  parliamentary  elections,  Karl  Marx  and  other  members 

^  Ferdinand  Lassalle's  "Reden  und  Schriften,"  Bernstein  Revision, 
Vol.  II,  p.  413- 


l80     THE  SOCIALIST  PHILOSOPHY  AND  MOVEMENT 

of  the  General  Council  of  the  International  Workingman's 
Association  took  active  part  in  the  deliberations  of  that 
body  together  with  the  bourgeois  members  of  other 
progressive  political  parties,  and  in  Belgium,  Denmark 
and  Sweden  the  Socialist  Party  has  at  different  times  for- 
mally entered  into  pohtical  alliances  with  other  parties 
upon  the  common  platform  of  suffrage  extension. 

But  all  such  socialist  alliances  with  bourgeois  parties, 
whether  made  for  the  purpose  of  suffrage  reform  or  for 
any  other  pohtical  object,  are  never  permanent.  They 
are  made  for  a  special  purpose  and  are  dissolved  as  soon 
as  that  purpose  is  accomphshed. 

"We  social  democrats,"  said  Bebel  at  the  International 
Socialist  Congress  of  Amsterdam,  in  1904,  "are  broad 
minded  enough  to  accept  from  our  adversaries  all  con- 
cessions we  can  obtain  from  them,  w^hen  they  offer  us  some 
real  benefit  in  order  to  secure  our  support  to-day  for  the 
government,  to-morrow  for  the  liberal  parties,  the  day  after 
even  for  the  party  of  the  center,  which  makes  a  special 
bid  for  the  workingmen's  votes.  But  the  hour  after  we 
combat  them  all,  the  center,  the  government  and  the 
liberals,  as  our  permanent  enemies.  The  bottomless 
chasm  which  separates  us  from  the  government  as  well  as 
from  all  parties  of  the  bourgeoisie  is  not  forgotten  for  a 
minute."  ^ 

In  the  countries  where  an  absolute  majority  is  required 
for  election  to  parliament,  and  a  second  ballot  thus  often 
becomes  necessary  to  determine  the  choice  in  certain 
districts,  the  Socialist  parties  frequently  enter  into  agree- 
ments with  other  parties  for  the  support  of  their  mutual 

»  "Sixi^me  Congr^s  Socialiste  International,"  Compte-Rendu  Ana- 
lytique,  Brussels,  1904,  p.  88. 


SOCIALISM   AND   POLITICS  l8l 

candidates  as  against  the  candidates  of  other  parties,  on 
the  second  ballot.  While  the  excuse  for  this  seeming 
digression  from  non-compromising  socialist  tactics  is 
obvious,  the  Socialist  parties  of  Germany  and  other  coun- 
tries have  repeatedly  endeavored  to  abolish  this  practice, 
but  with  little  success;  the  socialist  voters  as  a  rule  insist 
on  exercising  their  suffrage  on  all  occasions,  and  the  watch- 
v^^ord  of  abstention  in  any  election  has  never  met  with  their 
general  approval. 

In  the  United  States,  in  which  there  are  no  political  or 
economic  remains  of  a  feudal  system,  hardly  any  restric- 
tions upon  universal  manhood  suffrage,  and  no  second 
ballots  in  general  elections,  there  seems  to  be  no  reason  or 
excuse  for  any  de\iation  from  the  general  socialist  prin- 
ciple of  absolutely  independent  politics,  and  the  socialists 
of  America^  have  in  fact  on  every  occasion  declared  them- 
selves against  all  forms  of  political  combination  or  coopera- 
tion with  other  parties. 

Parliamentary  Tactics  of  the  Socialist  Party 

The  first  entry  of  socialists  into  parliamentary  politics 
was  characterized  by  the  same  diffidence  and  misgi\'ings 
that  had  marked  their  early  participation  in  electoral 
campaigns. 

Thus,  when  the  first  socialists  were  elected  to  the  old 
North  German  Diet,  so  shrewd  a  party  leader  as  Wilhelm 
Liebknecht  advocated  a  purely  negative  attitude  on  the 
part  of  the  socialist  deputies  towards  the  positive  work  of 
ParHament.  "My personal  opinion,"  says  he,  "was  that 
our  elected  representatives  should  enter  Parliament  with 
a  protest,  and  withdraw  immediately,  without,  however, 


1 82      THE  SOCIALIST  PHILOSOPHY  AND  MOVEMENT 

surrendering  their  credentials.  With  this  opinion  I  re- 
mained in  the  minority;  it  was  decided  that  the  repre- 
sentatives of  democracy  could  utilize  every  opportunity 
they  might  deem  appropriate,  in  order  to  emphasize  in 
the  'Diet'  their  attitude  of  negation  and  protest,  but  that 
they  should  keep  aloof  from  all  practical  parliamentary 
proceedings,  because  any  participation  in  such  proceed- 
ings would  imply  a  recognition  of  the  North  German 
Union  and  of  Bismarck's  policies,  and  might  tend  to  obscure 
the  fact  that  the  struggles  in  the  'Diet'  are  but  fictitious 
struggles  and  a  mere  farce."  ^ 

These  negative  tactics  were  steadfastly  adhered  to 
during  the  first  two  sessions  of  the  North  German  Diet, 
but  already  the  next  session  witnessed  a  spontaneous  de- 
parture from  the  rigid  rule,  when  several  socialist  deputies 
took  the  floor  in  the  first  parliamentary  discussion  on  the 
subject  of  governmental  labor  regulation.  And  the  so- 
cialist tactics  of  parliamentary  abstinence  have  since 
gradually  but  definitely  given  way  to  the  policy  of  watchful 
and  energetic  parliamentary  activity.  The  socialist  depu- 
ties in  the  European  parliaments  have  preserved  their 
uncompromising  attitude  of  "negation  and  protest" 
practically  on  the  sole  subject  of  the  budgets  of  their  respec- 
tive governments ;  they  vote  almost  uniformly  against  their 
approval,  arguing  that  as  representatives  of  the  working 
class  they  cannot  consistently  grant  to  capitalist  govern- 
ments the  means  to  maintain  a  class  state,  which  in  almost 
all  cases  includes  a  standing  army.^     In  all  other  matters, 

^  "Ueber  die  politische  Stellung  der  Sozialdemocratie,"  p.  12.  Com- 
pare also,  Robert  Hunter,  "Socialists  at  Work,"  New  York,  1908,  p.  221. 

'  Recently  a  strong  opposition  has  developed  in  the  ranks  of  the  Social 
Democratic  Party  of  Germany  to  the  continuance  of  the  party's  tradi- 
tional attitude  of  protest  against  the  budget. 


SOCIALISM   AND   POLITICS  1 83 

however,  the  socialist  groups  in  the  parliaments  of  Europe 
are  among  the  most  active  and  alert :  the  socialist  deputies 
are  never  tired  of  introducing  legislative  measures  for  the 
betterment  of  the  social,  political  and  material  conditions 
of  the  workingmen,  for  the  curtailment  of  capitalist  ex- 
ploitation, and  for  the  advancement  of  true  social  progress. 

Thus  at  the  convention  of  the  Socialist  Party  of  France, 
held  at  Reims  in  1903,  the  parliamentary  representatives 
of  the  party  reported  that  they  had  introduced  during 
the  preceding  session  of  parliament  no  less  than  forty- 
six  legislative  bills,  the  principal  provisions  of  which 
dealt  with  the  following  subjects:  the  guaranty  of  se- 
crecy and  liberty  of  the  ballot;  the  suppression  of  the 
religious  budget;  the  old-age  pension;  the  repeal  of  the 
laws  against  vagabondage;  the  right  of  government  and 
municipal  employees  to  strike;  the  monopoly  of  sugar 
refineries;  the  enactment  of  a  labor  code;  the  abolition 
of  the  trucking  system;  the  abolition  of  private  employ- 
ment bureaus;  the  amendment  of  the  laws  on  trade  unions ; 
the  abolition  of  the  standing  army;  the  creation  of  a 
department  of  labor;  the  introduction  of  the  initiative  and 
referendum  in  legislative  matters;  the  freedom  of  hunting 
and  fishing,  and  the  insurance  of  workingmen  against 
accidents.^ 

In  the  session  of  the  German  Diet  of  1 900-1901,  the 
representatives  of  the  Social  Democratic  Party  introduced 
bills  for  the  amendment  of  the  industrial  courts  act;  for 
tenement  house  regulation  and  inspection;  for  the  crea- 
tion of  a  national  department  of  labor  and  of  a  national 
factory  inspection  bureau;  for  the  limitation  of  the  work- 

*  "Parti  Socialiste  de  France,"  Compte-Rendu  du  Deuxi&me  Congres 
National,  Tenu  a  Reims,  September  27-29,  1903,  p.  28. 


184     THE   SOCIALIST  PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 

day  of  all  employees  in  industrial,  commercial  and  other 
occupations  and  pursuits,  to  ten  hours;  for  the  prohibition 
of  employment  of  children  under  the  age  of  fourteen 
years;  for  the  extension  of  legal  protection  to  working- 
women,  especially  those  pregnant  or  in  childbed;  for  the 
prohibition  of  the  manufacture,  import  and  export  of 
matches  with  white  phosphorus;  for  the  extension  of 
the  rights  of  assembly,  organization  and  coalition;  for 
the  extension  and  guaranty  of  the  liberty  of  the  press; 
for  the  abolition  of  the  offense  of  lese  majeste;  for  the 
immunity  of  members  of  parliament  from  arrest  during 
parliamentary  sessions;  for  enforcing  the  responsibility 
of  the  Imperial  Chancellor  to  the  Diet,  and  for  the  reap- 
portionment of  parliamentary  electoral  districts  in  accord- 
ance with  the  increase  of  the  population/ 

We  have  chosen  these  instances  of  proposed  socialist 
legislation  from  the  two  countries  in  which  the  socialist 
parliamentary  groups  are  the  oldest  and  have  had  ample 
time  to  settle  down  to  fixed  parliamentary  practices,  for 
the  reason  that  the  wide  and  varied  scope  of  these  pro- 
posed measures  is  typical  of  the  socialist  activity  in  the 
parliaments  of  all  other  European  countries.  Besides  the 
proposed  laws  of  the  character  of  those  mentioned,  there 
are  numerous  other  radical  measures  advocated  most 
uniformly  and  persistently  by  socialists  in  parliaments, 
among  them  being  those  providing  for  a  graduated  in- 
come and  inheritance  tax. 

But  the  effort  to  initiate  legislation  does  not  by  any 
means  exhaust  the  parliamentary  work  of  the  socialists. 

•  "  ProtokoU  iiber  die  Verhandlungen  des  Parteitages  der  Sozialdemo- 
kratischen  Partei  Deutschlands,"  abgehalten  zu  Liibeck,  September  22- 
28,  1901,  p.  77. 


SOCIALISM   AND    POLITICS  1 8$ 

The  socialist  deputies  take  part  in  the  discussion  on  all 
legislative  measures  of  social  import  introduced  by  the 
government  or  other  parties,  supporting  or  opposing  or 
urging  amendments,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  pro- 
posed measure;  they  make  full  and  sometimes  very 
effective  use  of  their  right  to  interpellate  the  government 
on  its  actions,  attitude  or  intentions  with  respect  to  matters 
or  occurrences  of  public  interest ;  they  accept  membership 
in  the  various  parliamentary  committees,  and  generally 
participate  in  all  the  detailed  work  of  the  parliaments. 
Thus  the  attitude  of  the  socialists  towards  the  positive 
work  of  parliaments  has  changed  very  radically  within 
the  last  few  decades,  and  the  change  was  by  no  means 
arbitrary,  but  was  brought  about  by  the  increased  political 
strength  of  the  socialist  movement.  A  movement  may 
well  maintain  a  purely  negative  and  criticising  attitude 
so  long  as  it  is  numerically  weak  and  politically  insignifi- 
cant. But  when  the  movement  grows  in  strength  and 
extension  and  gradually  becomes  a  recognized  social  and 
political  power,  it  can  no  longer  remain  at  a  dignified 
distance  from  the  actual  and  practical  struggles  of  modern 
industrial  and  political  life  —  it  is  forced  into  the  very 
center  of  these  struggles  and  is  involved  in  all  their  details : 
its  progress  becomes  more  persistent  and  aggressive,  its 
program  and  practical  work  become  more  detailed  and 
specific. 

In  1867,  when  Liebknecht  and  his  associates  first  formu- 
lated their  rigorous  program  of  parliamentary  abstention, 
Germany  was  the  only  country  that  had  socialist  repre- 
sentatives in  parliament,  and  the  total  number  of  these 
representatives  was  eight.  To-day,  after  just  forty  years, 
the  socialist  parties  have  over  four  hundred  deputies  in 


1 86      THE    SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 

the  national  parliaments  of  sixteen  European  countries, 
and  hosts  of  representatives  in  minor  legislative  assemblies 
and  municipal  councils  all  over  the  world. 

The  socialist  deputies  in  every  country  constitute  a 
separate  and  independent  parliamentary  group,  but  they 
freely  support  other  parties  in  parliaments  in  such  meas- 
ures and  actions  as  they  consider  to  be  in  the  interests  of 
the  working  class  or  in  the  furtherance  of  true  social 
progress.  The  difference  between  such  political  coopera- 
tion in  parliament  and  cooperation  or  combination  in 
electoral  campaigns  is  obvious.  In  parliaments  votes  are 
taken  upon  concrete  and  single  issues  from  time  to  time; 
each  party  determines  its  stand  on  a  given  issue  in  con- 
formity with  its  general  views  and  the  interests  of  its 
constituents,  and  the  parties  taking  a  similar  stand  natu- 
rally vote  and  act  together  on  the  particular  issue.  No 
compromise  or  organic  fusion  is  involved  in  the  pro- 
cedure. The  socialists  in  parHament  frequently  accept 
and  support  compromise  measures,  but  only  in  cases 
where  the  measures  contain  at  least  some  positive  benefit 
to  their  cause;  they  do  not  indulge  in  the  practice  of  po- 
litical "swapping,"  by  which  one  party  often  gives  its 
support  to  a  measure  which  it  would  otherwise  oppose,  in 
return  for  the  similar  support  for  its  pet  measures  by  the 
other  party. 

Nor  do  the  socialist  representatives  in  parliament  make 
lasting  or  permanent  alliances  with  the  other  parties  for 
any  purpose. 

When  the  famous  ''bloc  republicain"  was  formed  in  the 
Parliament  of  France  as  a  defensive  and  offensive  union 
against  the  monarchists  and  reactionaries,  who  were 
advanced  to  the  foreground  by  the  violent  anti-Dreyfus 


SOCIALISM  AND  POLITICS 

agitation,  one  wing  of  the  socialist  group,  the  moderates 
or  opportunists,  joined  the  "  6/oc."  But  that  poUcy  proved 
so  unsatisfactory  to  the  sociaHsts  of  France,  and  met  with 
such  decided  criticism  from  the  sociaHsts  of  other  countries, 
that  it  was  soon  abandoned. 

Another  and  much  more  mooted  point  of  parhamentary 
tactics  presented  itself  to  the  socialists  of  Europe  in  recent 
years.  In  1899,  the  "radical"  French  premier,  Waldeck- 
Rousseau,  conferred  the  portfolio  of  Commerce  and  In- 
dustry on  the  socialist  deputy,  Etienne  Millerand,  and 
thus  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  modern  politics 
a  socialist  became  a  full-fledged  cabinet  minister.  The 
event  came  as  a  surprise  to  the  socialists  of  France  as  well 
as  to  the  socialists  of  all  other  countries,  and  the  wisdom  of 
Millerand' s  entry  into  the  Waldeck-Rousseau  cabinet,  or, 
stated  in  terms  of  the  general  principle  involved,  the  wis- 
dom of  socialist  participation  in  a  bourgeois  government, 
for  a  time  furnished  the  foremost  subject  of  discussion  in 
the  socialist  press  and  in  all  socialist  party  circles. 

The  defenders  of  Millerand's  course,  who  came  to  be 
known  as  "ministerialists,"  saw  in  the  entry  of  a  socialist 
into  the  government  of  the  country  a  partial  attainment 
of  that  "conquest  of  the  powers  of  government"  which  is 
the  final  political  aim  of  all  socialist  parties.  The  offer 
of  a  cabinet  portfolio  to  a  socialist,  they  argued,  is  not  a 
free  gift  on  the  part  of  the  government ;  it  is  a  concession 
forced  from  it  by  the  growing  strength  of  the  party.  It 
is  as  much  a  legitimate  object  of  political  conquest  as  is  a 
seat  in  parliament,  and  the  socialists  having  conquered 
that  high  position  in  the  administration  of  the  affairs  of 
the  country,  would  prove  themselves  inconsistent  and  weak- 
kneed  if  they  should  shrink  from  its  responsibilities  instead 


.^lALIST   PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 
l88      THF   - 

of  utilizing  its  great  opportunity  for  the  advancement  of 
their  cause. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  ultra  radical  wing  of  the  socialist 
movement  in  France  and  other  countries  was  utterly 
opposed  to  participation  of  socialists  in  bourgeois  govern- 
ments under  any  and  all  circumstances.  The  powers  of 
government  in  a  centralized  state,  they  declared,  cannot 
be  conquered  piecemeal.  As  long  as  the  dominant  inter- 
ests in  parliament  are  those  of  the  capitalist  class,  the 
government  must,  on  the  whole,  be  a  class  government, 
administered  in  the  interests  of  the  possessing  classes  and 
directed  against  the  classes  of  non-possessors,  and  a  socialist 
member  of  such  a  government  is  bound  to  become  a  tool 
of  the  bourgeoisie  in  its  struggles  against  the  workingmen. 
The  socialist  party  can  gain  no  positive  benefit  from  the 
membership  of  one  of  its  representatives  in  a  bourgeois 
cabinet,  but  it  may  suffer  incalculable  harm  by  assuming 
responsibility  for  the  acts  of  a  hostile  government. 

The  views  of  the  great  bulk  of  socialists  outside  of 
France  on  the  vexed  question  were  admirably  expressed 
by  Karl  Kautsky  in  a  letter  to  the  "ministerial"  French 
newspaper,  Petite  Republique :  *  — 

"The  question  whether  and  to  what  extent  the  socialist 
proletariat  may  participate  in  a  bourgeois  government," 
writes  he,  "is  a  question  of  tactics,  which  must  be  an- 
swered differently  in  different  countries  and  at  different 
times,  and  which  I  do  not  dare  to  answer  in  absolute  and 
unconditional  terms. 

"In  Switzerland  and  in  England,  such  a  participation 
would  seem  to  me  possible;  in  Germany,  out  of  the 
question. 

*  Reproduced  in  Die  Neue  Zeit,  19th  Year,  Vol.  I,  p.  37. 


SOCIALISM   AND   POLITICS  1 89 

"But  just  because  I  cannot  give  an  absolute  answer,  I 
cannot  assert  that  the  principle  of  class  struggle  prohibits 
a  socialist  from  entering  a  bourgeois  cabinet  under  all 
circumstances. 

"Under  normal  conditions  a  socialist  who  recognizes 
the  class  struggle  will  be  as  little  inclined  to  enter  a 
bourgeois  cabinet  as  an  atheist  would  be  inclined  to  enter 
a  clerical  cabinet,  or  a  republican  a  cabinet  of  Bonapart- 
ists.  His  activity  in  such  a  cabinet  could  in  the  long  run 
hardly  have  any  other  effect  than  to  corrupt  and  to  com- 
promise him  and  his  party. 

"  But  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  there  may  not  be  ex- 
ceptional cases  in  which  it  may  sometimes  be  proper  for 
socialists  to  cooperate  for  a  definite  purpose  with  bourgeois 
democrats  in  the  same  government  against  a  common 
enemy,  without  violating  the  principle  of  class  struggle. 
Such  experiments  will  indeed  always  be  dangerous,  but 
there  may  be  possible  situations  which  would  justify 
them." 

The  Millerand  experiment  has  abundantly  proved  that 
the  exceptional  situation  of  which  Kautsky  spoke  did  not 
exist  in  .lis  case,  and  the  official  career  of  the  first  socialist 
minister  has,  on  the  whole,  confirmed  the  apprehensions 
of  the  "anti-ministerialists."  The  socialist  parties  in 
France  Lnd  other  countries  have  now  adopted  the  definite 
policy  of  uniformly  declining  membership  in  cabinets, 
and  while  there  are  to-day  two  socialist  ministers  in  France 
(Briand  and  Viviani)  and  one  in  England  (John  Burns), 
the  socialist  parties  of  these  countries  disclaim  all  connec- 
tion witli  or  responsibility  for  them.  Viviani  and  Burns 
had  ceased  to  be  members  of  the  Socialist  Party  long  before 
they  accepted  their  portfolios,  and  Briand  was  summarily 


190     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 

expelled  from  membership  in  his  party  as  soon  as  he 
entered  the  cabinet.     As  showing  the  prevalence  of  the 
fashion  of  appointing  socialists  to  cabinet  positions,  it  is 
amusing  to  note  that  even  Tsar  Nicholas  II  could  not 
abstain  from  offering  to  a  prominent  Finnish  socialist, 
Mr.  J.  K.  Kari,  a  portfolio  in  the  Finnish  cabinet.     Mr. 
Kari,  formerly  secretary  of  the  Finnish  Socialist  Party, 
accepted  the  offer,  and  was  promptly  read  out  of  the  party. 
"  What  a  strange  pass  our  bourgeois  republic  has  come 
to  at  this  day,"  exclaims  Jean  Jaures,  "when  cabinets  can- 
not live  without  calling  in  socialists,  even  when  socialists  as 
a  party  deliberately  decline  to  take  office;  when  the  repub- 
lican majority  not  only  turns  to  our  model  socialists  to  bring 
about  needed  reforms,  but  even  has  recourse  to  the  rene- 
gades of  revolutionary  socialism  to  carry  out   effective 
measures  against  the  advancing  hosts!     The  Third  Re- 
public utilizes  our  men  of  energy  and  even  our  traitors !"  * 

Political  Achievements  of  Socialism 

The  practical  political  activity  of  the  socialist  parties 
is,  on  the  whole,  of  quite  recent  date.  The  social  demo- 
crats of  Germany  entered  on  their  first  electoral  campaign 
as  far  back  as  1867,  but  for  almost  twenty  years  they 
stood  practically  alone  in  the  field  of  socialist  politics. 
Sporadic  attempts  at  electoral  campaigns  were  made  by 
socialists  in  Holland  beginning  in  1880,  in  Italy  in  1882 
and  in  Denmark  in  1884;  but  as  well-organized  and  con- 
tinuous political  parties  the  socialists  entered  the  political 
arena  in  France  in  1885,  in  Denmark  in  1889,  in  Sweden  in 
1890,  in  Italy  in  1892,  in  Spain  in  1893,  i^  Belgium  in 

*  The  Independent,  New  York,  June  20,  1907.       ' 


SOCIALISM   AND   POLITICS  I9I 

1894,  and  finally  in  Austria,  Holland  and  Norway  as  late 
as  1897.  In  the  United  States  the  socialists  nominated 
their  first  national  ticket  in  1892.  In  some  of  these  coun- 
tries the  socialists  had  occasionally  engaged  in  municipal 
and  other  minor  campaigns  somewhat  earlier,  but  on  the 
whole  it  may  be  said  that  the  average  period  of  practical 
and  systematic  socialist  activity  in  politics  does  not  exceed 
twenty  years. 

This  comparatively  short  space  of  time  has  by  no 
means  been  barren  of  positive  results  for  the  socialist 
movement  and  the  working  class. 

The  parliamentary  achievements  of  the  socialist  parties 
may  be  divided  into  such  reforms  and  measures  as  are 
directly  traceable  to  socialist  initiative  and  such  as  are  the 
indirect  results  of  socialist  politics. 

The  reforms  of  the  former  class  are  few  and  rather 
insignificant,  as  must  naturally  be  expected  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  the  socialists  as  yet  constitute  but  a  small  minority 
in  every  parliament,  and  a  minority  generally  hostile  to 
the  rest  of  the  house.  Moreover,  in  several  European 
parliaments,  notably  in  the  German  Diet,  a  fixed  and 
rather  large  number  of  seconders  is  required  before  a 
proposed  measure  may  be  considered  by  the  house ;  and  in 
most  of  such  countries  the  socialist  parliamentary  groups 
have  not  been,  until  recent  years,  numerous  enough  to 
comply  with  such  requirements,  so  that  their  activity  was 
of  necessity  limited  to  the  support  or  opposition  of  measures 
introduced  by  the  government  or  by  other  parties. 

Summing  up  the  positive  achievements  of  social  demo- 
cratic politics  in  the  German  Diet,  Hermann  Molkenbuhr  ^ 

1  "Positive  Leistungen  der  Sozialdemocratie,"  Die  Neue  Zeit,  25th 
Year,  Nos.  27,  29  and  30. 


192     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

claims  some  direct  socialist  victories  in  all  the  domains 
of  parliamentary  legislation  dealing  with  workingmen's 
insurance,  factory  laws,  industrial  courts,  the  civil  code, 
protective  tariff  and  taxation.  Taking  the  existing 
German  law  on  accident  insurance  as  an  illustration,  he 
shows,  by  an  elaborate  analysis  of  the  origin  of  its 
various  provisions,  that  no  less  than  twelve  of  its  most 
substantial  amendments  have  been  adopted  on  motion  of 
the  social  democratic  party,  while  the  party  of  the  center, 
which  habitually  poses  as  the  champion  of  the  working 
class,  has  only  two  of  such  amendments  to  its  credit, 
the  party  of  the  government  and  the  liberal  union,  each 
one,  the  other  parties  having  contributed  nothing  at 
all  to  the  amelioration  of  this  important  law.  In  France 
the  socialist  deputies  have  initiated  or  secured  the  passage 
of  several  favorable  measures,  among  them  laws  reducing 
the  hours  of  labor  of  government  employees,  extending 
the  powers  of  municipalities,  suppressing  private  employ- 
ment bureaus,  and  several  important  amendments  to  the 
accident  insurance  law.  In  Denmark  the  socialists  in 
parliament  have,  after  persistent  efforts  of  twenty  years, 
recently  succeeded  in  securing  the  passage  of  a  law  which 
makes  it  incumbent  on  the  government  and  municipalities 
to  grant  considerable  subsidies  to  labor  organizations 
formed  for  the  support  of  their  unemployed  members. 
In  Italy,  Belgium  and  Switzerland  the  socialist  representa- 
tives in  parliament  have  at  one  time  or  another  succeeded 
in  securing  the  passage  of  several  measures  of  social  re- 
form, while  in  Sweden,  Norway  and  Austria  the  socialist 
parties  have  within  recent  years  secured  largely  extended 
suffrage. 
Far  more  important,  however,  than  the  laws  directly 


SOCIALISM   AND   POLITICS  1 93 

initiated  in  parliaments  by  socialist  representatives,  are 
those  numerous  measures  of  social  legislation  which  have 
within  the  last  two  decades  been  passed  by  the  parliaments 
of  almost  all  civilized  countries  as  the  indirect  but  never- 
theless legitimate  result  of  socialist  political  action.     These 
measures  are  as  a  rule  taken  by  the  liberal  or  even  con- 
servative parties  bodily  or  with  some  changes  from  the  pro- 
grams formulated  by  the  socialist  parties,  and  are  fathered 
as  original  proposals  of  the  opponents  of  socialism  in  order 
to  destroy  the  effectiveness  of   the  socialist  propaganda. 
Far-seeing  statesmen  sometimes  meet  such  "issues"  with 
apparent  cheerfulness,  even  before  they  have  acquired  the 
force  of  popular  demands,  and  shortsighted  governments 
grant  them  grudgingly  when  the  general  cry  for  them  has 
practically  become  irresistible.     Prince  Bismarck,  as  was 
pointed  out  in  a  previous  chapter,*  frankly  avowed  that  the 
object  of  the  broad  social  legislation  inaugurated  by  him 
was  primarily  to  avert  a  popular  revolution,  and  the  greater 
part  of  the  social  and  political  reforms  inaugurated  since 
by  the  several  parliaments  of  Europe  clearly  owe  their 
origin  to  similar  considerations.     In  those  countries  of 
Europe   in   which   the   socialist   movement   has   attained 
such  political  strength  as  to  cause  alarm  to  the  parties  of 
the   dominant   classes,    the   latter   regularly   shape   their 
policies  with  special  reference  to  their  probable  effect  on 
the  socialist  vote,  and  the  "stealing  of  the  socialist  thunder" 
is  one  of  their  favorite  manoeuvers,  especially  in  time  of 
approaching  electoral  campaigns.    Chancellor  Von  Buelow 
has  publicly  admitted  this  fact  for  Germany,  and  it  is 
more  than  an  accident  that  the  golden  era  of  social  legisla- 
tion in  all  other  countries  coincides  quite  closely  with  the 

*  "Social  Legislation  and  Socialist  Jurisprudence." 


194     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

period  of  practical  socialist  politics;  that  countries  in  which 
political  socialism  is  weak,  as,  for  instance,  the  United 
States,  are  the  most  backward  in  the  domain  of  social 
legislation,  and  that  the  few  labor  laws  occasionally  passed 
by  the  American  state  legislatures  are  so  often  nullified 
by  court  decisions. 

But  all  the  parliamentary  victories  of  socialism,  direct 
or  indirect,  are  but  a  minor  part  of  the  political  achieve- 
ments of  the  socialist  parties.  Socialist  politics  is  not 
restricted  to  parliamentary  elections  and  activity;  it 
extends  to  all  minor  divisions  of  the  state  in  which  the 
administration  is  wholly  or  partly  elective,  to  the  landtags 
of  Germany,  the  cantonal  councils  of  Switzerland,  the  pro- 
vincial councils  of  other  countries,  the  state  legislatures  of 
the  United  States,  and  above  all,  the  councils  of  munici- 
palities. And  it  is  the  last-mentioned  domain  in  which 
the  socialists  have  so  far  achieved  their  greatest  practical 
triumphs. 

The  powers  of  municipalities  are,  as  a  very  uniform  rule, 
largely  restricted  by  the  state,  and  a  socialist  administra- 
tion never  has  the  opportunity  to  realize  all  or  even  a  sub- 
stantial part  of  its  program  within  the  scope  of  a  municipal 
government.  But  on  the  other  hand  the  socialists,  while 
they  have  so  far  not  succeeded  in  a  single  instance  in  con- 
quering the  government  of  an  entire  country,  province  or 
state,  have  gained  the  absolute  majority  in  the  councils  of 
numerous  municipalities  in  many  countries  of  Europe  and 
within  the  very  restricted  scope  of  municipal  powers  they 
have  had  the  opportunity  to  experiment  in  practical 
administrative  problems. 

Of  the  countries  with  a  strong  socialist  representation 
in  the  municipal  administration,  we  must  mention  in  the 


SOCIALISM  AND   POLITICS  1 95 

first  place  France,  where  but  one  wing  of  the  socialist 
movement,  the  Parti  Ouvrier  Fran^ais,  in  1904,  had  full 
control  of  the  administration  of  63  municipalities  and  a 
grand  total  of  over  1300  municipal  councilors  in  174 
cities  and  towns.  The  unified  Socialist  Party  of  France 
has  to-day  about  3800  representatives  and  officers  in 
about  500  municipalities.  The  Italian  socialists  adminis- 
ter over  one  hundred  towns  and  cities  and  have  represen- 
tation in  the  councils  of  more  than  1200  municipalities; 
the  socialists  of  Belgium  have  majorities  in  the  councils  of 
22  municipalities  and  a  total  of  650  representatives  in  193 
towns;  those  of  Austria  had,  in  1904,  526  representatives 
in  178  municipalities;  the  socialists  of  Norway  elected  in 
1907  over  HOC  representatives  in  urban  and  rural  com- 
munities; those  of  Denmark  have  over  400  municipal 
councilors,  and  the  socialists  of  England  and  Sweden 
have  strong  representations  in  the  municipal  administra- 
tion of  their  countries.  Even  the  Socialist  Party  of  the 
United  States  has  at  different  times  had  the  control  of 
the  administration  of  several  towns,  and  has  about  three 
hundred  municipal  officers  in  the  different  parts  of  the 
country. 

The  work  and  achievements  of  these  socialist  municipali- 
tifes  vary  in  each  country  according  to  the  special  condition 
of  their  inhabitants  and  the  latitude  of  action  allowed  to 
them  by  the  central  governments,  but  a  pretty  complete 
picture  of  such  work  and  achievements  may  be  obtained 
from  a  brief  description  of  the  main  features  of  "municipal 
socialism"  in  the  countries  where  it  is  most  strongly 
represented. 

From  the  country  in  which  municipal  socialism  is 
strongest,  France,  we  have  the  reports  of  the  mayors  of 


196     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY  AND   MOVEMENT 

several  cities  ^  which  afford  an  excellent  insight  into  the 
workings  of  "socialist"  municipalities. 

In  Roubaix,  a  manufacturing  town  in  Northern  France, 
of  a  population  of  about  125,000,  the  socialists  were  in 
control  of  the  municipal  government  for  a  number  of 
years.  The  first  attention  of  the  socialist  council  was  given 
to  the  task  of  properly  bringing  up  the  children  of  the  poor. 

"The  child  and  its  welfare,  its  protection  against  disease, 
against  want  and  against  contamination,  its  training  and 
its  culture,"  says  Felix  Chabrouilland,  the  socialist  secre- 
tary of  the  Roubaix  municipality,  in  one  of  the  reports 
mentioned,  "  this  has  been  the  constant  care  of  the  socialist 
council  of  Roubaix. 

"The  socialist  officers  began  their  work  for  the  little 
ones  by  admitting  girl-mothers  to  the  relief  offered  by  the 
bureau  of  charities,  which  up  to  that  time  had  been  piously 
denied  them.  For  the  benefit  of  infants  the  socialist 
officers  provided  a  distribution  of  layettes  to  needy  mothers. 
Moreover,  the  bureau  of  medical  assistance  has  been 
reorganized,  and  the  mothers  can  obtain  without  cost  the 
services  of  the  doctor  and  the  midwife. 

"The  child  is  born.  To  whom  shall  the  mother  intrust 
it  if  she  must  return  to  the  factory  ? 

"  Before  the  socialists  came  into  power,  Roubaix  had  no 
municipal  creches  (day  nurseries).  They  contented  them- 
selves with  subsidizing  to  a  slight  extent  the  work  of  private 
creches. 

"In  1894  the  first  municipal  creche  was  started  in  a 

*  The  reports  appeared  originally  in  "Le  Mouvement  Socialiste"  and 
in  "Le  Socialiste";  they  were  translated  into  English  and  published 
under  the  title,  "Socialists  in  French  Municipalities,"  by  Charles  H. 
Kerr,  Chicago,  1900. 


SOCIALISM   AND   POLITICS  I97 

rented  building  in  the  heart  of  a  populous  district.  Some 
months  later  $10,000  was  voted  for  building  another 
creche,  which,  opened  in  1896,  deserves  to  be  taken  as  a 
model.  A  third  is  now  building,  and  others  are  under 
construction.  Children  are  received  in  the  municipal 
creches  without  any  charge. 

"The  resolution  establishing  restaurants  for  school 
children  was  passed  by  the  socialist  council  on  the  first  day 
of  its  official  existence.  These  restaurants,  the  cost  of 
which  is  borne  by  the  school  fund,  are  open  every  school 
day  of  the  year.  The  great  majority  of  children  are  ad- 
mitted without  charge.  The  children  enrolled  as  paying  are 
charged  fifteen  centimes  a  meal  in  the  kindergartens  and 
twenty  centimes  in  the  primary  schools.  Since  1892  the 
school  restaurants  of  Roubaix  have  served  2,818,601  meals, 
of  which  only  20,402  were  paid  for.  The  meal  consists 
of  a  soup,  a  plate  of  meat  with  vegetables,  80  grammes  of 
bread  and  a  glass  of  beer. 

"To  give  children  food  of  the  first  quality  is  an  excellent 
thing.  But  some  of  them  lack  sufficient  clothing.  Since 
the  socialists  have  replaced  the  reactionaries  in  the  mayor's 
office,  the  bureau  for  clothing  school  children  has  distrib- 
uted to  the  poor  children  in  the  secular  schools  157,617 
pieces  of  clothing,  —  trousers,  shirts,  dresses,  caps,  pairs 
of  stockings  or  of  shoes,  etc. 

"By  the  terms  of  an  agreement  made  in  1897  ^^d  re- 
newed in  1900,  the  city  of  Roubaix  sends  to  the  seaside 
hospital  of  Saint-Pol-sur-Mer,  a  little  place  near  Dunkirk, 
the  children  from  its  common  schools  who  are  enfeebled, 
anemic  —  in  a  word,  'candidates  for  disease,'  whose 
delicate  constitution  may  be  restored  by  the  good  effects 
of  a  sojourn  at  the  seashore.     These  children  are  sent 


198     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

during  the  summer  season,  from  April  15  to  October  15, 
and  remain  a  month  at  the  sanitarium.  Each  caravan 
is  composed  of  not  less  than  100  children  nor  more  than 
160,  and  their  only  duty  while  at  the  seashore  is  to  take 
deep  breaths  of  fresh  air,  play  in  the  sunlight  and  improve 
in  health.  No  classes,  no  lessons,  no  discipline  other  than 
what  a  parent  would  impose,  but  watchful  care.  Already 
1865  little  'candidates  for  disease,'  boys  and  girls,  have 
been  helped  by  a  month  at  Saint-Pol.  There  is  no  doubt 
on  the  part  of  any  one  acquainted  with  the  facts  but  that 
the  benefit  to  the  children,  moral  as  well  as  physical,  has 
been  great." 

The  socialists  of  Roubaix  also  largely  extended  and  im- 
proved the  common  school  system  of  the  town  by  estab- 
lishing a  number  of  new  classes,  introducing  courses  of 
manual  training,  etc. 

Next  to  the  all-important  subject  of  education,  the  so- 
cialist administration  of  Roubaix  bestowed  the  greatest  care 
upon  the  matter  of  public  health  and  the  support  of  the 
poor.  It  established  municipal  bathing  houses  and  dis- 
infecting plants  as  well  as  municipal  bakeries  and  kitchens. 
In  its  bakeries  it  baked  its  own  bread  for  the  poor  of  the 
town,  and  distributed  it  freely  at  the  homes  of  the  latter, 
while  its  kitchens  provided  all  needy  families  with  whole- 
some food,  at  the  lowest  possible  price. 

In  addition  to  this,  the  socialist  municipality  paid  a 
pension  of  1 20  francs  a  year  to  the  aged  poor  of  either  sex 
living  at  home ;  it  provided  a  number  of  cottages  for  widows 
with  little  children  to  care  for,  established  a  bureau  for 
free  legal  advice  and  built  a  new  hospital  for  the  sick. 

The  socialist  administration  of  Roubaix  largely  benefited 
the  municipal  employees,  whose  hours  of  labor  were  re- 


SOCIALISM   AND   POLITICS  1 99 

duced  to  eight  per  day  and  whose  wages  were  substantially 
increased,  and  it  endowed  the  theaters  and  the  scientific 
and  artistic  societies  of  the  town  more  liberally  than  its 
bourgeois  predecessors  had  done. 

In  the  still  larger  city  of  Lille,  which  was  likewise 
under  socialist  control  for  a  number  of  years,  the  mu- 
nicipal reforms  introduced  by  the  socialists  bear  a 
general  resemblance  to  those  of  Roubaix,  except  that 
some  of  them,  particularly  those  relating  to  sanitary 
measures  and  hygienic  supervision,  were  carried  out  on  a 
larger  scale.  A  notable  feature  of  the  socialist  administra- 
tion of  Lille  was  the  promotion  of  the  fine  arts  and  higher 
education  among  the  poor.  The  school  of  fine  arts  was 
reorganized  on  a  higher  and  more  efficient  plane;  the 
municipal  theater  was  frequently  opened  to  the  workers, 
and  by  agreement  with  the  management  of  the  theaters  in 
the  city,  the  administration  received  four  hundred  free 
seats  at  each  performance,  which  were  distributed  among 
the  workingmen;  popular  concerts  and  lectures  were 
periodically  arranged  at  the  expense  of  the  city,  and  liberal 
prizes  were  awarded  to  poor  students  of  recognized  ability. 

The  examples  of  Roubaix  and  Lille  are  typical  for  all 
other  municipalities  under  socialist  control  in  France. 
In  almost  all  cases  the  care  of  the  children,  the  public 
health,  the  assistance  of  the  poor  and  the  legal  protection 
of  the  workingmen  are  the  prime  concern  of  the  admin- 
istration. 

The  socialists  of  France  ascribe  but  a  secondary  im- 
portance to  the  municipal  ownership  of  street  cars,  tele- 
phones, etc.,  although  wherever  possible,  they  regulate  the 
rates  of  such  public  service  concerns  and  sometimes  even 
operate  them  as  municipal  enterprises. 


200     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND    MOVEMENT 

With  all  their  reforms,  the  socialist  municipalities  in 
France  are  as  a  rule  far  from  being  extravagant  or  reckless 
in  their  expenditures,  and  their  balance  sheets  usually  show 
a  substantial  surplus.  The  taxes  are  shifted,  as  much  as 
possible,  from  the  poor  to  the  wealthy. 

In  Belgium  the  powers  of  the  municipal  administration 
are  even  more  limited  than  in  France  —  the  mayor  of  the 
city  is  appointed  by  the  king,  and  the  decisions  and  ordi- 
nances of  the  municipal  council  are  subject  to  the  veto  of 
the  ''^deputation  pcrmanente,"  a  bureau  of  the  provincial 
parliament  and  of  the  king.  Under  these  circumstances 
the  socialists  in  Belgian  town  and  city  councils  have  natu- 
rally not  been  able  to  introduce  very  radical  innovations 
in  the  municipal  administration  of  the  country.  Thus  the 
principle  of  the  progressive  income  tax  for  the  raising  of 
municipal  revenues  has  repeatedly  been  adopted  by  the 
councils  of  socialist  municipalities,  and  has  been  vetoed 
by  the  government  as  often  as  adopted.  Among  the  first 
tasks  of  a  socialist  municipality  in  Belgium  is  the  improve- 
ment of  the  conditions  of  the  workingmen  in  its  employ. 
A  fixed  minimum  wage,  a  fixed  maximum  workday,  and 
insurance  against  accidents  are  almost  uniformly  among 
the  first  measures  adopted  by  a  new  socialist  administra- 
tion in  a  Belgian  town.  The  schooling  of  cliildren  with  the 
special  features  of  free  clothing,  free  meals  and  vacation 
colonies  plays  as  important  a  part  in  every  socialist  munici- 
pal administration  in  Belgium  as  in  France,  but  in  the 
former  somewhat  more  attention  is  being  paid  to  the 
municipal  operation  of  street  cars,  gas,  electricity,  water- 
works, etc. 

The  socialist  municipal  councilors  of  Belgium  have  or- 
ganized a  union  for  the  study  of  municipal  problems  and 


SOCIALISM   AND   POLITICS  201 

the  dissemination  of  information  on  affairs  of  municipal 
administration,  with  a  permanent  bureau  and  a  salaried 
secretary,  and  their  example  has  been  followed  by  the 
socialists  of  Holland. 

The  socialist  municipalities  of  Denmark  proceed  sub- 
stantially along  the  same  lines  as  those  of  France  and 
Belgium.  Speaking  for  the  town  of  Esbjerg  as  a  typical 
example,  the  editor  of  the  local  socialist  paper  relates  in  a 
recent  report :  "The  Socialists  hold  12  of  the  19  seats  in  the 
city  council.  Our  first  act,  after  having  gained  control, 
was  to  assist  the  poor,  and  we  have  managed  to  make  it 
possible  for  all  poor  to  avoid  public  charity. 

"We  then  helped  the  hungry  school  children  by  giving 
them  a  free  noon-day  meal,  until  the  minister  of  the  in- 
terior prohibited  the  appropriation  of  the  necessary  means. 

"We  next  had  the  food  paid  for  by  the  free  poor  fund  and 
in  turn  appropriated  money  for  the  fund. 

"Later,  however,  we  formed  a  private  organization, 
which  took  charge  of  the  feeding  of  the  school  children, 
and  strangely  enough,  the  city  council  was  now  given 
permission  by  the  department  of  the  interior  to  appropriate 
the  required  money  for  this  purpose. 

"We  have  endeavored  to  improve  the  school  system, 
until  we  now  have  free  and  uniform  education  in  all 
common  schools. 

"However,  other  things  have  drawn  public  attention 
toward  Esbjerg  more  than  these.  The  contractors 
formerly  had  a  solid  organization  and  as  a  rule  always 
agreed  on  bids  for  public  works,  and  then  divided  the 
profits.  The  socialists  soon  put  a  stop  to  this.  We  em- 
ployed workmen  direct  and  bought  our  own  lumber  and 
brick.     We  built  a  school  and  employed  our  carpenters 


202     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

direct.  Then  we  were  boycotted.  We  could  get  no  more 
brick  at  the  kilns,  and  the  team  owners  were  forbidden  to 
deliver  any  material  to  the  building.  This  strike  lasted 
half  a  day,  after  which  we  bought  the  required  brick  at  the 
contractors'  own  brick  kiln. 

"The  employers'  association,  however,  has  since  at- 
tempted, hitherto  without  any  success,  to  delay  or  even 
stop  all  work  undertaken  by  us. 

"The  anti-socialist  minority  has  now  resigned  in  a  body, 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  they  have  been  represented  on  all 
committees,  according  to  their  number  in  the  council." 

The  distinctive  features  of  municipal  socialism  in  Italy 
are  the  reduction  of  the  taxes  on  articles  of  food,  the 
increase  of  direct  taxes,  and  the  municipal  subsidies  and 
support  of  labor  exchanges  and  cooperative  enterprises 
conducted  by  trade  unions,  although  the  socialist  admin- 
istrations do  not  neglect  any  of  the  customary  municipal 
reform  measures. 

In  the  United  States  Wisconsin  is  so  far  the  only  state 
in  which  the  socialists  have  of  late  years  had  a  substantial 
and  growing  representation  in  the  legislature  and  in  the 
councils  of  some  municipalities,  notably  in  the  city  of 
Milwaukee.  In  the  state  legislature  as  well  as  in  the 
Milwaukee  City  Council,  they  form  minority  groups, 
but  they  have  nevertheless  been  able  to  influence  the  actions 
of  both  bodies  in  a  marked  degree.  Mr.  Carl  D.  Thomp- 
son, a  former  socialist  member  of  the  Wisconsin  State 
Legislature,  enumerates  a  surprisingly  large  number  of 
positive  measures  initiated  by  the  Socialist  Party  and 
passed  by  the  city  council  of  Milwaukee  or  the  state 
legislature  of  Wisconsin.^ 

'  "The  Constructive  Program  of  Socialism,"  Milwaukee,  1908. 


SOCIALISM   AND   POLITICS  20$ 

The  achievements  of  socialist  politics  in  the  field  of  posi- 
tive reform  are  thus  not  insignificant.  But  the  socialists  do 
not  overestimate  them.  They  consider  them  as  measures 
calculated  to  brace  and  strengthen  the  working  class  in 
its  struggle  against  capital,  but  by  no  means  as  the  be- 
ginnings or  installments  of  a  socialist  system. 

The  work  of  systematically  rebuilding  the  economic  and 
political  structure  of  modern  society  on  the  lines  of  social- 
ism, can  begin  only  when  the  socialists  have  the  control 
of  the  entire  political  machinery  of  the  state,  i.e.,  of 
all  the  legislative,  executive  and  judicial  organs  of  the 
government.  As  long  as  the  socialist  representatives  in 
modern  legislative  or  administrative  organs  remain  in 
the  minority,  the  more  radical  and  truly  socialistic  reforms 
advocated  by  them,  the  reforms  aimed  at  the  dispossession 
of  the  privileged  classes,  are  bound  to  founder  on  the  op- 
position of  the  ruling-class  majorities  in  the  government. 
The  socialists  can  expect  to  carry  out  their  program  only 
by  a  series  of  gradual  and  successive,  but  systematic  and 
uninterrupted  measures,  when  they  themselves  are  in 
the  majority  in  the  government,  either  having  carried  a 
majority  of  the  popular  vote  in  a  successful  election,  or 
having  been  placed  in  power  by  a  popular  rising.  The 
chief  aim  of  socialist  activity  is,  therefore,  to  develop  the 
numerical  strength  and  political  maturity  required  for  the 
ultimate  conquest  of  the  powers  of  government,  and  the 
supreme  test  of  the  success  of  present  socialist  politics  is 
the  measure  in  which  it  realizes  that  aim.  And  it  is  in  this, 
their  most  important  function,  that  socialist  politics  have 
achieved  their  highest  triumph. 

For  whatever  might  have  been  the  significance  of  socialist 
politics  as  a  factor  in  securing  immediate  social  reforms, 


204     THE   SOCIALIST   PHILOSOPHY   AND   MOVEMENT 

it  certainly  has  been  of  transcendent  importance  in  the 
creation  of  the  powerful  national  organizations  of  socialism. 
It  was  the  practical  political  battles  of  socialism,  the 
concrete  attacks  on  the  enemy,  the  definite  issues  and  war 
cries,  the  common  victories  and  defeats  that  attracted  mul- 
titudes of  European  workingmen,  and  it  is  these  that  are 
beginning  to  attract  the  mass  of  American  workingmen  to 
the  banner  of  socialism.  If  the  number  of  socialist  voters 
of  the  world  has  grown  from  about  30,000  in  1867  to 
almost  10,000,000  in  1908;  if  the  socialists  have  become 
a  recognized  factor  in  the  public  life  of  25  modern  na- 
tions, having  representation  in  the  parliaments  and  ad- 
ministrative organs  of  16  of  them;  if  the  socialists  have 
elaborated  a  clear,  detailed  and  sober  program  of  social 
transformation,  and  developed  in  their  ranks  thousands 
of  thinkers,  orators,  statesmen,  organizers  and  leaders, 
the  practical  politics  of  the  modern  socialist  parties  is 
largely  responsible  for  these  splendid  results.  Without 
the  unifying  and  propelling  force  of  political  activity,  the 
socialist  movement  to-day  might  not  have  advanced  much 
beyond  the  stage  of  the  purely  literary  significance  of  the 
early  socialist  schools  or  beyond  that  of  a  number  of  inco- 
herent sects. 


PART  II 
SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 


CHAPTER  I 

INTRODUCTION 

Socialists  and  Social  Reformers 

To  the  outsider  one  of  the  most  puzzling  aspects  of  the 
socialist  movement  is  its  attitude  towards  the  modern  move- 
ments for  social  reform.  The  socialists  are  reformers^ 
The  socialist  program  contains  a  large  number  of  concrete 
measures  or  "demands"  for  the  progressive  improvement 
of  our  industrial,  social  and  political  institutions,  and  much 
of  the  practical  political  activity  of  socialism  is  directed 
towards  the  advancement  of  such  reform  measures. 

And  still  socialists  are  often  found  reluctant  to  co- 
operate with  non-socialist  reformers  for  the  attainment  of 
specific  reforms.  Even  when  such  proposed  reforms  are 
apparently  in  line  with  the  demands  of  socialism,  the  sepa- 
rate movements  for  their  realization  are  not  seldom  met  by 
them  with  indifference,  sometimes  even  with  active  op- 
position. 

The  socialists  have  on  that  account  been  charged  with 
narrowness  and  inconsistency,  but  these  charges  are  based 
on  an  entire  misconception  of  the  character  of  socialist 
reforms.  There  is  a  vital  distinction  between  the  reforms 
advocated  by  the  socialists  and  those  urged  by  the  re- 
formers of  all  other  shades. 

The  non-socialist  reform  movements  may  be  divided  into 
two  general  groups;   those  inaugurated  distinctly  for  the 

207 


208  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

benefit  of  the  middle  classes,  i.e.,  the  small  farmers,  manu- 
facturers or  traders,  and  those  supported  by  ideologists  of 
all  classes. 

The  movements  of  the  former  variety  have  for  their  in- 
variable object  the  strengthening  of  the  position  of  the 
middle  class  as  against  the  increasing  power  of  large 
capitalism.  The  measures  advocated  by  them  often  con- 
template the  arrest  of  industrial  development  or  even  the 
return  to  conditions  of  past  ages.  Among  such  "reform" 
measures  are  the  restrictions  on  combinations  of  capital 
and  the  provisions  against  suppression  of  competition. 
Measures  of  this  character  are  reactionary  even  though 
in  their  formulation  they  sometimes  coincide  with  working- 
class  demands. 

The  ideologists  of  the  "better  classes"  represent  a  less 
reactionary  but  not  more  efficient  type  of  social  reformers. 
These  kind-hearted  but  shortsighted  gentlemen  are 
thoroughly  convinced  of  the  soundness  of  our  social 
system  as  a  whole.  They  notice  occasionally  certain 
social  evils  and  abuses,  and  they  endeavor  to  remove  them 
in  what  seems  to  them  to  be  the  most  direct  way.  They 
happen  to  encounter  an  appalling  condition  of  poverty, 
and  they  seek  to  allay  it  by  alms.  They  notice  the  spread 
of  disease  among  the  poor,  and  they  build  hospitals  and 
sanitariums.  They  are  shocked  by  the  tidal  wave  of  crime 
and  vice,  and  they  strive  to  lead  the  sinners  back  to  the 
path  of  righteousness  by  moral  sermons  and  model  penal 
institutions.  They  find  their  elected  representatives  in 
public  office  incompetent  and  corrupt,  and  they  unite  to 
turn  them  out  of  office  and  to  elect  more  efficient  and 
honest  men.  They  treat  each  social  abuse  and  evil  as  an 
isolated  and  casual  phenomenon.     They  fail  to  see  the  con- 


INTRODUCTION  209 

nection  between  them  all.  For  them,  as  for  the  latej 
German-American  statesman,  Carl  Schurz,  there  is  noj 
social  problem,  but  there  are  many  social  problems. 

The  aim  of  all  socialist  reforms,  on  the  other  hand,  is  to 
strengthen  the  working  class  economically  and  politically 
and  to  pave  the  way  for  the  introduction  of  the  socialist 
state.  The  effect  of  every  true  socialist  reform  must  be 
to  transfer  some  measure  of  power  from  the  employing 
classes.  A  socialist  reform  must  be  in  the  nature  of  a 
working-class  conquest. 

The  socialist  reform  measures,  moreover,  are  all  insepa- 
rably and  logically  connected  with  each  other,  and  only 
when  taken  together  do  they  constitute  an  effective  pro- 
gram of  social  progress.  As  separate  and  independent 
measures,  they  would  be  trivial,  and  from  the  point  of  view 
of  the  ultimate  aim  of  the  socialist  movement,  none  of 
them  is  alone  of  sufficient  importance  to  warrant  the  con- 
centration of  all  efforts  for  its  realization. 

The  difference  between  the  conceptions  and  methods 
of  the  ideological  social  reformers  and  those  of  the  social- 
ists may  be  best  shown  by  an  illustration  borrowed  from 
the  domain  of  pathology.  A  number  of  physicians  are 
called  into  consultation  on  a  grave  case.  The  patient 
suffers  from  spells  of  coughing,  headaches  and  high  fever. 
His  appetite  is  poor,  and  he  is  losing  weight  and  color. 

If  the  physicians  are  thoughtless  and  superficial  prac- 
titioners, they  will  regard  all  these  indications  as  so  many 
separate  and  independent  diseases.  They  will  treat  each 
of  the  supposed  diseases  separately  or  they  will  have  each 
treated  by  a  speciaHst  in  that  particular  branch  of  medicine. 
But  if  a  scientific  and  experienced  practitioner  be  called  into 
the  consultation,  he  will  say  to  his  colleagues;    "Gentle- 


2IO  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

men,  your  diagnosis  of  the  case  is  wrong.  Tlie  patient 
does  not  suffer  from  a  complication  of  diseases.  The 
many  supposed  diseases  which  you  have  discovered  are  not 
independent  casual  ailments;  they  are  all  but  symptoms 
of  one  grave  organic  disease  —  tuberculosis.  If  you  suc- 
ceed in  banishing  this  organic  disease  from  the  patient's 
system,  the  symptoms  which  you  take  for  independent 
ailments  will  disappear  of  themselves,  but  if  you  persist  in 
treating  the  symptoms  without  attacking  the  root  of  them 
all,  the  patient  cannot  improve." 

And  so,  hkewise,  it  is  with  the  so-called  evils  of  society. 
Our  social  conditions  are  not  healthy  and  normal,  our 
social  organism  is  ill.  The  abject  poverty  of  the  masses 
with  all  its  concomitant  evils  —  sickness,  ignorance,  vice 
and  crime  —  is  appalling,  while  the  extravagant  luxuries 
of  our  multi-millionaires  only  serve  to  accentuate  the  utter 
misery  of  "the  other  half." 

The  gigantic  trusts  and  monopolies  which  have  developed 
within  recent  years,  the  periodic  crises  and  chronic  strikes 
and  lockouts,  are  proof  of  the  pathological  condition  of  our 
industries,  while  boss  rule,  corruption  and  bribery  mark  a 
similar  condition  in  our  politics. 

To  the  superficial  student  of  society  these  conditions 
present  so  many  separate  "evils,"  each  one  independent 
of  the  others,  each  one  curable  by  itself.  Hence  our 
charity  organizations,  anti-vice  leagues  and  societies  for  the 
prevention  of  crime;  hence  our  "trust  busters,"  single 
taxers,  municipal-ownership  men  and  anti-corrupt-prac- 
tices advocates;  hence  our  social  and  political  reformers 
of  all  types  and  specialties. 

The  socialists,  on  the  other  hand,  see  a  clear  connection 
and  necessary  interdependence  between  these  evils,     They 


INTRODUCTION  2 1 1 

regard  them  all  as  mere  symptoms  of  one  deep-rooted 
disease  of  our  social  organism  and  do  not  believe  in  curing 
the  mere  symptoms  without  attacking  the  real  disease. 
This  disease  the  socialists  find  in  the  unhealthy  organiza- 
tion of  our  industries,  based  on  the  private  ownership  of 
the  means  of  production  and  distribution. 

Poverty  is  the  direct  result  of  capitalistic  exploitation, 
and  ignorance,  \'ice  and  crime  are  poverty's  legitimate 
children.  To  maintain  its  rule,  capitalism  must  dominate 
government  and  public  sentiment,  hence  the  constant 
incentive  for  the  ruling  classes  to  corrupt  our  politics,  our 
press,  pulpit  and  schools. 

The  ultimate  aim  of  the  socialist  movement  is  to  convert 
the  material  means  of  production  and  distribution  into  the 
common  property  of  the  nation  as  the  only  radical  and 
effective  cure  of  all  social  evils.  But  this  program  does 
not  imply  that  the  socialists  propose  for  the  time  being  to 
remain  inactive,  complacently  expecting  the  dawn  of  the 
millennium. 

The  scientific  physician  in  our  illustration,  after  having 
made  his  diagnosis,  does  not  idly  sit  by  expecting  the 
coming  of  the  day  when  the  dread  disease  shall  suddenly 
disappear.  He  proceeds  to  the  proper  course  of  treat- 
ment forthwith.  By  a  systematic  process  of  strengthening 
his  patient's  physique,  by  increasing  his  powers  of  resist- 
ance, he  gradually  restores  his  patient's  health.  In  the 
course  of  the  treatment  he  does  not  disdain  palliatives 
calculated  to  give  temporary  relief,  but  all  his  remedies 
are  strictly  consistent  and  coordinate,  and  are  applied 
with  the  ultimate  object  constantly  in  view  —  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  mortal  germs  of  the  organic  disease. 

And  the  socialists  proceed  in  a  similar  manner.     They 


212  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

seek  to  prepare  the  people  for  the  radical  change  of  the 
industrial  basis  of  society,  by  a  systematic  and  never- 
ceasing  course  of  education,  training  and  organization, 
but  in  the  meantime  they  do  not  reject  temporary  reform. 
They  favor  every  real  progressive  measure,  and  work  for 
such  measures  wherever  and  whenever  an  opportunity 
offers  itself  to  them.  But  all  the  socialist  reforms  are  con- 
sistent parts  of  their  general  program ;  they  all  tend  in  one 
direction  and  serve  one  ultimate  purpose. 

To  the  ordinary  social  reformer,  on  the  other  hand,  each 
evil  is  an  evil  by  itself  to  be  cured  without  change  of  the 
system  which  produces  it,  and  hence  his  "practical" 
reforms  are  doomed  to  failure.  The  charity  worker  may 
bring  temporary  relief  to  a  few  hundred  poor,  a  mere  atom 
in  the  world  of  poverty,  but  he  cannot  check  poverty; 
the  moral  crusader  may  "save  the  souls"  of  some  fallen 
women  and  men,  but  as  long  as  the  conditions  which  drive 
them  into  vice  and  crime  remain  unchanged,  he  cannot 
stamp  out  vice  or  crime;  the  political  reformer  may  suc- 
ceed in  a  certain  campaign,  and  defeat  the  corrupt  "boss" 
or  divorce  the  legislature  from  the  corrupting  lobby,  but 
the  next  campaign  will  find  a  new  "boss"  at  the  head 
of  his  party  and  a  new  host  of  capitalist  agents  in  control 
of  the  legislature  as  long  as  the  industrial  conditions 
which  breed  corruption  in  politics  continue.  Just  as  the 
middle-class  reformers  are  reactionary  and  Utopian,  the 
ideological  reformers  are,  as  a  rule,  superficial  and  ineffec- 
tive, and  the  socialists  can,  therefore,  gain  nothing  by  a 
union  with  either. 

From  this  analysis  of  the  aims  and  nature  of  socialist 
reforms  it  will  be  readily  seen  that  socialism  cannot  attach 
an  equal  importance  to  all  the  numerous  reform  measures 


INTRODUCTION  213 

agitated  in  our  days.  Its  relation  to  each  of  such  measures 
depends  on  the  special  character  of  that  measure  and  its 
efficiency  as  a  weapon  in  the  class  struggle.  In  the 
following  chapters  we  wull  endeavor  to  deal  with  the 
subject  from  that  point  of  view.  For  the  convenience  of 
treatment,  we  will  group  the  most  popular  reforms  under 
five  main  heads,  and  we  will  consider  the  character, 
achievements,  and  role  in  the  socialist  program  of  each 
reform  group  in  a  separate  chapter 


CHAPTER   II 

THE   INDUSTRIAL   REFORM   MOVEMENTS 

Industrial  Reform 

Under  this  general  title  we  will  include  all  direct  efforts 
to  improve  the  present  economic  conditions  of  the  wage 
laborers,  to  diminish  the  degree  of  their  exploitation  and 
to  strengthen  their  position  in  the  struggles  with  their 
employers. 

The  specific  movements  coming  under  this  head  are  those 
for  the  improvement  of  labor  conditions  and  other  measures 
commonly  designated  as  factory  reform;  the  reduction  of 
the  hours  of  work,  the  abolition  of  child  labor,  the  regula- 
tion of  woman  labor  and  all  other  progressive  movements 
represented  by  the  trade  unions  and  the  cooperative  so- 
cieties of  workingmen. 

The  socialists  attach  the  greatest  importance  to  all 
reforms  of  this  character.  They  realize  that  the  task  of 
transforming  the  modern  capitalist  society  into  a  socialist 
commonwealth  can  be  accomplished  only  by  the  conscious, 
systematic  and  persevering  efforts  of  a  working  class 
physically,  mentally  and  morally  fit  for  the  assumption  of 
the  reins  of  government,  and  not  by  a  blind  revolt  of  a 
furious  and  desperate  rabble.  Every  measure  calculated 
to  remove  from  the  workingman  some  of  the  cares  and 
uncertainties  of  his  material  existence,  to  improve  his  health 

214 


THE  INDUSTRIAL   REFORM   MOVEMENTS  21$ 

and  spirits,  to  give  him  some  measure  of  leisure,  and  some 
time  for  thought  and  study,  is  bound  to  enhance  his  general 
intelligence,  his  interest  in  social  affairs  and  in  the  prog- 
ress and  welfare  of  his  class.  The  adherents  of  socialism 
principally  recruit  themselves  from  among  the  better 
situated  classes  of  the  workingmen,  and  the  socialist  efforts 
to  raise  the  economic  level  of  the  working  class  are  an 
organic  part  of  the  socialist  movement,  an  indispensable 
condition  of  its  progress  and  ultimate  triumph. 

Factory  Reform 

The  beginnings  of  factory  legislation  are  to  be  found  in 
the  classic  country  of  modern  capitalism,  England,  where 
Parliament  as  early  as  1802  adopted  the  bill  introduced 
by  Sir  Robert  Peel  for  the  protection  of  the  apprentices 
employed  in  cotton  mills.  The  measure  was  called  forth 
by  the  inhuman  conditions  in  the  English  cotton  mills, 
into  which  thousands  of  orphans  and  pauper  children  of 
the  most  tender  ages  were  bound  out  by  the  parishes  under 
the  old  Elizabethan  "Apprenticeship  Act,"  without  re- 
striction on  their  hours  of  labor  and  without  provisions 
for  their  health  and  education.  These  unfortunate  chil- 
dren were  forced  to  work  up  to  fifteen  hours  a  day,  and 
were  crowded  in  pent-up,  unsanitary  buildings  adjoining  the 
factory.  They  were  ill-clothed  and  underfed.  They  were 
growing  up  under  conditions  of  physical,  mental  and 
moral  degeneracy,  and  it  was  the  menace  to  the  future 
of  England's  laboring  population  impHed  in  these  con- 
ditions which  secured  the  passage  of  the  Peel  act. 

Viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  modern  conceptions,  the 
act  of  1802  was  no  great  achievement.     It  Hmited  the 


'216  SOCIALISM   AND    REFORM 

workday  of  the  cotton  mill  apprentices  to  twelve  hours,  and 
compelled  the  mill  owners  to  clothe  their  apprentices  and 
to  give  them  a  certain  hmited  school  instruction.  But 
the  great  significance  of  the  act  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  was 
the  first  to  break  down  the  bourgeois  doctrine  of  non-inter- 
ference by  the  state  in  the  industrial  relations  of  its  citizens. 
It  created  the  "  precedent, "  so  indispensable  to  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  mind;  it  opened  the  door  to  factory  legislation. 
And  slowly  but  steadily  the  principle  of  state  protection 
for  factory  workers  grew  in  scope  and  extension.  In 
England  the  law  of  1802  was  followed  first  by  the  timid 
amendments  of  1819,  1825  and  1833,  and  then  by  the  bolder 
measures  of  the  latter  half  of  the  last  century,  until  factory 
laws  became  a  regular  and  important  function  of  parlia- 
mentary legislation.  Starting  with  the  regulation  of  the 
labor  of  apprenticed  children,  they  gradually  extended  their 
operation  to  the  "free"  working  children,  then  to  working 
women,  and  finally  to  all  factory  workers. 

From  England  the  principle  of  factory  legislation  spread 
to  the  United  States,  Germany,  France  and  Switzerland, 
and  finally  it  established  itself  in  all  industrial  countries. 

"Looking  broadly  now  to  labor  legislation  as  it  has 
occurred  in  this  country,"  says  Mr.  Carroll  D.  Wright, 
speaking  of  factory  laws  in  the  United  States,  "  it  may  be 
well  to  sum  up  its  general  features.  Such  legislation  has 
fixed  the  hours  of  labor  for  women  and  certain  minors  in 
manufacturing  establishments;  it  has  adjusted  the  con- 
tracts of  labor;  it  has  protected  employees  by  insisting 
that  all  dangerous  machinery  shall  be  guarded;  ...  it 
has  created  boards  of  factory  inspectors,  whose  powers  and 
duties  have  added  much  to  the  health  and  safety  of  the 
operatives;    it  has  in  many  instances  provided  for  weekly 


THE  INDUSTRIAL   REFORM   MOVEMENTS         -217 

payments,  not  only  by  municipalities,  but  by  corporations; 
...  it  has  regulated  the  employment  of  prisoners;  pro- 
tected the  employment  of  children;  exempted  the  wages 
of  the  wife  and  minor  children  from  attachment;  estab- 
lished bureaus  for  statistics  of  labor;  provided  for  the 
ventilation  of  factories  and  workshops;  established  indus- 
trial schools  and  evening  schools;  provided  special  trans- 
portation by  railroads  for  workingmen ;  modified  the  com- 
mon-law rules  relative  to  the  liability  of  employers  for 
injuries  of  their  employees;  fixed  the  compensation  of 
railroad  corporations  for  negligently  causing  the  death  of 
employees,  and  has  provided  for  their  protection  against 
accident  and  death."  ^ 

In  reading  this  seemingly  large  schedule  of  labor  laws  it 
must,  of  course,  be  borne  in  mind  that  it  enumerates  and 
combines  all  principal  measures  enacted  in  the  different 
states  of  the  Union,  and  that  hardly  any  single  state  can 
boast  of  a  labor  code  containing  them  all.  On  the  other 
hand,  however,  it  must  also  not  be  forgotten  that  the 
United  States  is  one  of  the  backward  countries  in  the 
matter  of  factory  legislation,  and  that  many  countries  of 
Europe  have  gone  considerably  farther  in  that  direction. 

But  even  in  the  most  advanced  countries,  factory  legisla- 
tion is,  on  the  whole,  only  in  its  infancy,  and  its  practical 
achievements  are  insignificant  compared  with  what  still 
remains  to  be  done  in  order  to  make  the  work  of  the  factory 
hand  tolerable  and  safe. 

The  beginnings  of  factory  legislation  were  thus  intro- 
duced by  the  bourgeoisie  at  a  time  when  the  labor  move- 
ment had  hardly  attained  the  power  to  speak  for  itself. 
The  first  labor  laws  were  brought  about  partly  as  a  result 

^  "Industrial  Evolution  of  the  United  States,"  pp.  291,  292. 


2l8  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

of  the  struggles  between  the  hostile  divisions  of  dominant 
classes,  each  of  whom  courted  the  support  of  the  working- 
men,  but  probably  to  a  larger  extent  as  a  measure  of  hygiene 
intended  to  check  the  physical  degeneration  of  the  working 
class,  whose  misery  had  become  so  great  as  to  threaten  the 
future  of  the  nation.  And  it  is  very  significant  that  Peel's 
pioneer  measure  in  the  domain  of  factory  reform  was 
entitled,  "A  bill  for  the  preservation  of  the  health  and 
morals  of  the  apprentices  employed  in  cotton  mills." 

In  some  instances,  notably  in  Prussia,  the  first  measures 
of  protective  labor  legislation  were  introduced  by  the 
rulers  as  a  military  necessity.  "Thus,"  relates  Adolf 
Braun,  "in  an  address  to  Frederick  William  III  in  1836, 
it  was  reported  that  the  factory  districts  were  unable  to 
furnish  their  full  quota  of  soldiers  for  the  army.  Shortly 
thereafter  the  first  Prussian  Labor  Law,  that  of  March  9, 
1839,  was  enacted.  Children  under  the  age  of  nine  years 
were  excluded  from  work  in  factories  and  mines;  chil- 
dren under  sixteen  years  were  forbidden  to  work  nights  or 
Sundays  or  more  than  10  hours  on  workdays."  ^ 

But  with  the  growth  of  the  labor  movement  and  the 
general  improvements  in  labor  conditions  brought  about 
by  it,  the  dominant  classes  have  no  longer  any  interest  in 
the  protection  of  the  wage  workers  against  the  exploita- 
tion of  their  employers,  and  the  task  of  developing  and  ex- 
tending factory  legislation  falls  entirely  on  the  organized 
workingmen. 

Shorter  Workday 

Prior  to  the  development  of  modern  factory  industry, 
the  normal  workday  of  the  artisan  was  one  of  compara- 

*  Adolf  Braun,  "Zum  Achtstundentag,"  Berlin,  1901,  p.  14. 


THE  INDUSTRIAL   REFORM    MOVEMENTS  219 

tively  short  duration.  Speaking  of  pre-capitalistic  Eng- 
land, Thorold  Rogers  *  asserts  that  it  was  one  of  eight 
hours,  and  his  assertion  is  backed  by  an  abundance  of 
proof. 

But  with  the  gradual  disappearance  of  the  easy-going 
artisan  of  mediaeval  times,  and  the  advent  of  capitalist 
production,  the  length  of  the  workday  and  intensity  of 
labor  grew  steadily,  reaching  the  high-water  mark  to- 
wards the  end  of  the  eighteenth  and  the  beginning  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  The  golden  era  of  machine  invention 
stimulated  production  and  developed  factory  industry  with 
an  impetuous  suddenness  and  in  immense  proportions. 
The  ready  urban  workmen  were  totally  insufficient  for  the 
new  needs  of  capitalist  industry.  Their  wives  and  children 
and  their  rural  cousins  were  called  into  requisition,  and 
their  hours  of  labor  were  advanced  to  the  limits  of  physical 
possibility.  At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century 
the  ordinary  workday  of  the  English  factory  worker  seems 
to  have  been  one  of  from  twelve  to  fifteen  hours,  and  in 
seasons  of  special  activity  there  was  no  limit  to  it  at  all. 
The  effects  of  such  overwork  on  the  physical,  moral  and 
mental  condition  of  the  factory  workers  were  disastrous 
in  the  extreme,  and  the  demand  for  a  reduction  of  the 
workday  was  practically  the  first  manifestation  of  the 
incipient  labor  movement  in  England.  The  efforts  to  re- 
duce the  length  of  the  workday  have  ever  since  remained 
a  cardinal  part  of  the  modern  labor  movement.  These 
efforts  find  their  expression  in  the  political  agitation  of  the 
working-class  parties  as  well  as  in  the  struggles  of  the  in- 
dustrial labor  organizations  in  their  special  fields,  and  in 
both  domains  the  labor  movement  has  attained  some  suc- 

^  "Six  Centuries  of  Work  and  Wages,"  p.  327. 


220  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

cess  during  the  last  century.  In  England  the  first  law 
limiting  the  hours  of  labor  to  lo  per  day,  was  passed  in 
1847.  The  law  was  loosely  framed  and  poorly  enforced, 
and  in  1850  it  was  superseded  by  a  new  bill  limiting  the 
hours  of  labor  to  io|  on  week  days  and  7I  on  Saturdays. 
This  law  originally  applied  to  women,  children  and  men 
employed  in  the  textile  mills  only,  but  its  operation  was 
gradually  extended  by  a  series  of  new  enactments  to  prac- 
tically all  factory  workers.  The  hours  of  labor  of  textile 
workers  and  of  children  in  certain  industries  were  subse- 
quendy  reduced  to  10  per  day.  In  France  the  workday 
of  adult  males,  when  working  together  with  women  and 
children,  is  limited  to  10  hours,  otherwise  to  12;  in  Aus- 
tria, Germany  and  Switzerland,  the  normal  workday  of 
adult  male  factory  workers  is  fixed  at  11  hours  by  law, 
and  several  states  of  the  American  Union  have  limited  the 
duration  of  the  normal  workday  by  legal  enactment. 

Besides  these  general  laws  several  countries  have  fixed 
a  minimum  workday  of  varying  length  for  certain  special 
classes  of  workmen,  principally  those  engaged  in  the  more 
perilous  and  taxing  occupations  and  those  employed  di- 
rectly by  the  government. 

These,  then,  are  the  rather  meager  results  so  far  achieved 
by  this  movement  in  the  domain  of  legislation.  But 
far  larger  and  more  substantial  gains  have  been  made 
in  the  same  field  through  the  efforts  of  the  industrial 
labor  organizations  in  most  of  the  advanced  countries  of 
Europe,  Australia  and  America.  In  many  industries 
in  those  countries,  nine-hour  and  even  eight-hour  work- 
days prevail. 

In  almost  all  modern  countries  the  movement  of  organ- 
ized labor  to  reduce  the  hours  of  work  has  crystallized  in 


THE  INDUSTRIAL   REFORM    MOVEMENTS  221 

the  demand  for  an  eight-hour  workday,  and  the  movement 
is,  therefore,  generally  known  as  the  eight-hour  movement. 

The  English  trade  unions  seem  to  have  advanced  the  ideal 
of  a  general  eight-hour  day  for  workers  of  all  sexes  and 
ages  as  soon  as  their  public  activity  was  made  possible  by 
the  repeal  of  the  Combination  Laws  in  1824;  in  Australia 
an  Eight-Hour  League  was  formed  in  1856,  and  a  similar 
organization  was  called  into  life  in  the  United  States  in 
1869  under  the  leadership  of  Ira  Stewart. 

In  the  English-speaking  countries,  especially,  the  eight- 
hour  movement  has  assumed  large  proportions  and  impor- 
tance. "  Out  of  it,"  says  William  D.  P.  Bliss,  "  has  grown 
in  America  a  so-called  eight-hour  philosophy,  which  is  held 
by  its  adherents  to  be  a  complete  philosophy  of  the  labor 
movement  and  to  furnish  a  program  not  to  be  looked  at  as 
simply  one  plank  in  a  labor  program,  but  as  a  proposition 
complete  in  itself,  including  most  socialist  propositions  and 
furnishing  in  its  outline  a  solution  of  the  whole  labor  ques- 
tion." ' 

A  shortening  of  the  hours  of  labor  is  a  measure  of  im- 
mense importance  to  the  working  people,  as  a  factor  tend- 
ing to  improve  their  general  condition  of  health  and  to 
raise  the  average  duration  of  their  lives.  Long  hours  of 
labor  are  bound  to  impair  the  alertness  and  vigilance  of 
the  worker.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  accidents  occur 
most  frequently  in  the  industries  in  which  long  hours  are 
the  rule,  and  that  they  occur  with  greater  frequency  towards 
the  end  of  the  workday  than  at  its  beginning.  But  aside 
from  accidents  the  duration  of  the  workday  has  a  very 
direct  and  important  bearing  on  the  sickness  and  mortal- 
ity of  the  working  class.     Dr.  J.  Zadek,  who  has  made  a 

*  ''The  Encyclopedia  of  Social  Reforms,"  New  York  and  London, 
1898,  p.  88. 


222  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

special  study  of  this  aspect  of  the  problem/  relates  many 
striking  instances  of  the  effect  of  a  reduced  workday  on  the 
health  and  life  of  the  workers.  Thus,  after  the  lace  workers 
of  Switzerland  had  succeeded  in  reducing  their  workday  to 
II  hours,  sickness  among  the  employees  decreased  by  25 
per  cent.  Up  to  1871  the  workday  of  the  machine  builders 
of  Great  Britain  was  excessively  long,  and  the  average  life 
of  the  workers  in  that  trade  was  38^  years;  in  1872  the 
machine  builders  secured  a  reduction  of  the  workday  to 
nine  hours,  and  seventeen  years  later  the  average  length  of 
their  lives  had  risen  to  48^  years ! 

The  adoption  of  an  eight-hour  system  of  work,  it  is  fur- 
ther argued,  would  benefit  the  working  class  and  advance 
the  general  cause  of  human  civilization  in  many  ways. 
By  reducing  the  hours  and  quantity  of  labor  of  each  indi- 
vidual, it  would  necessitate  the  employment  of  a  larger 
number  of  workingmen  to  satisfy  the  demands  of  produc- 
tion. The  dread  army  of  unemployed,  the  source  of  much 
social  vice  and  crime  and  the  cause  of  much  disastrous 
competition  in  the  labor  market,  would  thus  disappear. 
A  reduction  of  the  hours  of  labor  would  result  in  a  material 
increase  of  wages  not  only  on  account  of  the  elimination 
of  competition  between  workingmen,  but  also  because  it 
would  raise  their  standard  of  living.  A  short  workday 
would  give  to  the  workingman  more  leisure,  i.e.,  more  time 
to  live,  think  and  enjoy,  and  such  leisure  would  necessarily 
increase  his  fondness  for  home  and  family  life,  broaden  his 
intellectual,  social  and  political  interests,  and  develop  in 
him  greater  needs  and  requirements.  And  it  is  the  habit- 
ual requirements  of  the  workingman,  his  accustomed  stand- 
ard of  living,  that  largely  determine  his  wage.     A  shorter 

»  "Der  Achtstundentag  eine  gesundheitliche  Forderung,"  Berlin,  1906. 


THE   INDUSTRIAL   REFORM   MOVEMENTS  223 

workday  would,  therefore,  also  increase  the  consumptive 
powers  of  the  working  classes,  and  thus  stimulate  industry 
and  largely  remove  the  causes  of  periodic  overproduction 
and  underconsumption  with  the  resultant  industrial  crises 
and  panics. 

The  formal  resolution  adopted  by  the  Boston  Eight- 
Hour  League,  and  drafted  by  Ira  Stewart,  goes  so  far  as  to 
claim :  — 

"That  less  hours  mean  reducing  the  profits  and  fortunes 
that  are  made  on  labor  or  its  results. 

"More  knowledge  and  more  capital  for  the  laborer; 
the  wage  system  gradually  disappearing  through  higher 
wages." 

The  socialists  do  not  concede  to  the  eight-hour  movement 
all  the  importance  that  its  most  ardent  adherents  claim  for 
it.  They  do  not  believe  that  the  wage  system  upon  which 
the  entire  present  order  is  built  can  be  abolished  by  a 
gradual  reduction  of  hours  and  raising  of  wages,  and  they 
even  do  not  admit  that  the  general  introduction  of  an  eight- 
hour  workday  would  be  effective  in  solving  the  problem  of 
unemployment.  The  shortening  of  the  hours  of  labor, 
as  a  rule,  results  in  the  greater  intensity  and  productiveness 
of  labor,  and  it  is  the  testimony  of  many  writers  on  the  sub- 
ject that  where  a  short  workday  has  been  introduced,  it  has 
been  found  that  the  ordinary  workingman,  owing  to  his 
better  health,  larger  energy  and  more  cheerful  spirits, 
could  do  in  eight  hours  practically  as  much  work  as  he  pre- 
viously had  done  in  ten.  John  Rae,^  himself  an  employer 
of  labor  and  one  of  the  most  ardent  and  persuasive  advo- 
cates of  the  eight-hour  day,  largely  bases  his  argument  on 
this  observation.     But  the  socialists  fully  adhere  to  the 

'  "Eight  Hours  for  Work,"  London,  1894. 


224  SOCIALISM   AND    REFORM 

view  that  a  reduced  workday  would  result  in  an  increase 
of  wages  for  the  other  reasons  mentioned  above,  and  they 
attach  the  utmost  importance  to  the  effect  of  greater  leisure 
on  the  morale  and  intellect  of  the  working  class.  Hence 
they  are  among  the  most  active  and  enthusiastic  promoters 
of  the  movement.  In  countries  with  a  strong  trade  union 
movement  they  support  the  eight-hour  agitation ;  in  coun- 
tries where  the  organizations  of  the  trade  unions  are  weaker 
they  lead  the  agitation.  Every  socialist  platform  invariably 
contains  the  demand  for  a  progressive  reduction  of  the 
hours  of  labor  in  keeping  with  the  improved  methods  of 
production,  and  the  socialist  representatives  in  parliaments 
and  other  legislative  bodies  never  miss  an  opportunity  to 
urge  legislation  in  that  direction. 

One  of  the  first  resolutions  adopted  by  the  International 
Workingmen's  Association,  which  stood  wholly  under 
socialist  influences,  at  its  first  regular  convention  in  1864, 
was  to  the  effect  that  "  the  limitation  of  the  workday  is  the 
first  step  in  the  direction  of  the  emancipation  of  the  working 
class,"  and  that  "the  congress  considers  in  principle  that  a 
workday  of  eight  hours'  duration  is  sufficient."  And  when 
the  first  of  the  new  series  of  international  socialist  con- 
gresses convened  in  Paris  in  1889,  it  reaffirmed  the  resolu- 
tion, and  set  apart  the  first  day  of  May  of  every  year  for 
international  labor  demonstrations  in  favor  of  an  eight- 
hour  workday.  "May  Day"  parades  and  "eight-hour 
demonstrations"  have  since  become  prominent  features  in 
the  socialist  propaganda  of  Europe  and  America. 

Child  Labor 

Child  labor  as  an  incident  of  domestic  and  agricultural 
pursuits  has  probably  always  existed,  but  child  labor  as  a 


THE   INDUSTRIAL   REFORM   MOVEMENTS  22$ 

regular  and  important  factor  in  national  industry  is  an  in- 
novation, a  blossom  of  the  modern  capitalist  system  of  pro- 
duction. It  was  the  machine  that  made  child  labor  on  a 
large  scale  possible,  it  was  capitalist  competition  that  made 
it  desirable,  and  it  was  capitalist  exploitation  of  the  adult 
workers  that  made  it  inevitable.  The  worst  phases  of  child 
labor  are  to  be  found  in  the  classic  country  of  capitalism 
and  in  the  classic  period  of  factory  development  —  in 
England  towards  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  and  the  begin- 
ning of  the  nineteenth  centuries. 

Describing  the  conditions  of  child  labor  of  that  period, 
Mr.  William  F.  Willoughby  says:  — 

"Children  of  all  ages,  down  to  three  and  four,  were 
found  in  the  hardest  and  most  painful  labor,  while  babes  of 
six  were  commonly  found  in  large  numbers  in  many  fac- 
tories. Labor  from  12  to  13  and  often  16  hours  a  day  was 
the  rule.  Children  had  not  a  moment  free,  save  to  snatch 
a  hasty  meal,  or  sleep  as  best  they  could.  From  earliest 
youth  they  worked  to  a  point  of  extreme  exhaustion,  with- 
out open-air  exercise  or  any  enjoyment  whatever,  but  grew 
up,  if  they  survived  at  all,  weak,  bloodless,  miserable,  and 
in  many  cases  deformed  cripples,  and  victims  of  almost 
every  disease.  Drunkenness,  debauchery  and  filth  could 
not  but  be  the  result.  Their  condition  was  but  the  veriest 
slavery,  and  the  condition  of  the  serf  or  negro  stood  out  in 
bright  contrast  to  theirs.  The  mortality  was  excessive,  and 
the  dread  diseases  rickets  and  scrofula  passed  by  but  few 
in  their  path.  It  was  among  this  class  that  the  horror  of 
hereditary  disease  had  its  chief  hold,  aided  as  it  was  by  the 
repetition  and  accumulation  of  the  same  causes  that  first 
planted  its  seeds.  The  reports  of  all  the  many  investiga- 
tions showed  that  morality  was  almost  unknown.     In  the 

Q 


226  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

coal  mines  the  condition  of  the  children  was  even  worse. 
According  to  the  report  of  1842,  on  child  labor,  it  was 
estimated  that  fully  one  third  of  those  employed  in  the  coal 
mines  of  England  were  children  under  eighteen,  and  of  these 
much  more  than  one  half  were  under  thirteen.  The  facts 
revealed  in  this  elaborate  report  of  over  2000  pages,  devoted 
chiefly  to  child  labor  in  coal  mines,  would  be  scarcely 
credible  if  they  were  not  supported  by  the  best  of  authority, 
so  fearful  was  the  condition  of  the  children  found  to  be. 
Down  in  the  depths  of  the  earth  they  labored  from  14  to  16 
hours  daily.  The  coal  often  lay  in  seams  only  18  inches 
deep,  and  in  these  children  crawled  on  their  hands  and  feet, 
generally  naked,  and  harnessed  up  by  an  iron  chain  and 
band  around  their  waists,  by  which  they  either  dragged 
or  pushed  heavily  loaded  cars  of  coal  through  these  narrow 
ways.  In  nearly  every  case  they  were  driven  to  work  by 
the  brutal  miners,  and  beaten,  and  sometimes  even  killed. 
Law  did  not  seem  to  reach  to  the  depths  of  a  coal  pit. 
Thus  these  young  infants  labored  their  young  lives  out  as 
if  condemned  to  torture  for  some  crime."  ^ 

And  John  A.  Hobson,  commenting  on  these  conditions 
exclaims :  — 

"There  is  no  page  in  the  history  of  our  nation  so  in- 
famous as  that  which  tells  the  details  of  the  unbridled 
greed  of  these  pioneers  of  modern  commercialism,  feeding 
on  the  misery  and  degradation  of  English  children."  ^ 

Nor  were  the  conditions  in  other  countries  in  the  periods 
of  inception  of  great  capitalist  production  much  better. 
"In  the  first  decades  of  the  last  century,"  relates  Dr. 

'  William  F.  Willoughby,  "Child  Labor,"  American  Economic  Asso- 
ciation, March,  1890. 

^  "Problems  of  Poverty,"  London,  1891,  p.  184. 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  REFORM   MOVEMENTS  227 

Herkner,  "children  of  the  most  tender  ages,  some  of  them 
four  years  old,  were  made  to  work  in  the  industrial  centers 
of  the  Rhenish  provinces,  for  a  daily  wage  of  twopence; 
their  workday  lasted  lo,  12  and  even  14  hours,  and  often 
they  were  made  to  work  in  the  nighttime."  ^ 

And  even  in  Switzerland  children  of  six  and  seven  years 
were  employed  in  the  spinning  mills,  working  continually 
from  midnight  to  noon  or  from  early  in  the  morning  till 
night. 

The  evils  of  child  labor  early  attracted  the  attention  of 
the  public-spirited  men  of  all  countries,  and  the  first  efforts 
of  all  factory  legislation  were  invariably  directed  against 
this  evil.  But  the  process  of  legislative  reform  in  this 
field  has,  on  the  whole,  been  slow  and  quite  ineffective. 
It  took  the  English  Parliament  fully  seventeen  years  after 
the  adoption  of  the  Peel  law  to  pass  the  first  act  prohibit- 
ing the  employment  of  children  below  a  minimum  age  in 
factories,  and  that  age  as  fixed  by  the  law  of  1819,  was  — 
nine  years !  The  minimum  age  of  child  workers  in  Eng- 
land was  raised  to  ten  years  in  1874,  to  eleven  in  1891,  and 
at  present  it  is  twelve  years.  Of  the  other  countries  of 
Europe,  some  have  entirely  failed  to  legislate  on  the 
minimum  age  of  factory  workers,  and  others  have  fixed 
it  at  so  low  a  point  that  it  accentuates  rather  than  relieves 
the  horrors  of  child  labor.  Thus,  in  Denmark,  the  law 
forbids  the  employment  of  children  under  ten  years.  In 
Belgium,  Italy,  Russia,  Sweden  and  Holland  the  age  at 
which  children  are  legally  set  free  for  factory  work  is 
twelve  years,  Germany  and  France  do  not  allow  their 
children  to  work  in  factories  before  the  age  of  thirteen 

*  Heinrich  Herkner,  "Die  Arbeiterfrage,"  4th  Edition,  Berlin,  1905, 
pp.  24,  25. 


228  SOCIALISM   AND    REFORM 

years,  and  Austria  and  Switzerland  before  fourteen.  In 
the  United  States  we  are  confronted  in  this,  as  in  every 
other  domain  of  social  legislation,  by  46  different  sets  of 
laws  enacted  in  as  many  states.  The  minimum  age  of 
juvenile  factory  workers  varies  from  twelve  to  sixteen 
years,  but  fourteen  seems  to  be  the  favorite  point  in  most 
states. 

Somewhat  more  satisfactory  results  in  the  field  of  child- 
labor  legislation  seem  to  have  been  achieved  in  the  direc- 
tion of  limiting  the  hours  of  labor  of  the  youthful  factory 
workers.  In  England  children  under  fourteen  years  are  only 
allowed  to  be  employed  half  time,  and  the  hours  of  em- 
ployment of  children  between  fourteen  and  eighteen  years 
arelimited  to  12,  with  2  hours'  intermission  for  rest.  In  Ger- 
many the  hours  of  children  under  fourteen  years  of  age  in 
factories  must  not  exceed  6  a  day,  with  an  intermission  of 
at  least  half  an  hour,  and  children  between  fourteen  and 
sixteen  must  not  work  more  than  10  hours  a  day,  with  one 
hour's  interval  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  and  half  an  hour 
in  the  morning  and  afternoon.  In  France  children  under 
sixteen  may  work  10  hours  a  day  in  factories.  Sweden 
limits  the  work  of  children  under  fourteen  to  6  hours, 
and  under  sixteen  to  12  hours.  In  the  United  States  the 
hours  of  labor  for  children  are  variously  fixed  at  from  8 
to  ID  per  day. 

Yet  while  the  legal  restrictions  on  child  labor  and  on 
the  intensity  of  its  exploitation  have  thus,  on  the  whole, 
been  making  slow  and  laborious  progress,  the  evil  itself 
has  been  steadily  increasing  and  spreading. 

Economically,  morally  and  in  every  other  way,  child 
labor  is  one  of  the  heaviest  curses  upon  the  working  class. 
Originating  as  a  last  and  desperate  resort  in  the  effort  to 


THE  INDUSTRIAL   REFORM    MOVEMENTS  229 

augment  the  insulTicicnt  income  of  the  head  of  the  prole- 
tarian family,  child  labor  has  proved  in  the  hands  of  the 
capitalists  one  of  the  most  effective  methods  for  cutting 
the  wages  of  the  adult  workers.  Instead  of  being  a  help 
to  his  father,  the  child  has  become  his  competitor  in  the 
factory.  The  wages  of  the  factory  children  are  ludi- 
crously low,  ranging  from  25  or  30  cents  a  week  in  some 
countries  of  Europe  to  about  $2.50  per  week  in  the  United 
States,  and  the  total  earnings  of  the  working  children  are 
rarely  enough  to  make  up  for  the  losses  in  wages  which 
their  competition  causes  to  the  adult  workers. 

And  the  moral  cost  of  child  labor  to  the  working  class  is 
incalculable.  It  robs  the  working  child  of  all  joys  and 
privileges  of  childhood,  cripples  his  body,  dwarfs  his  mind, 
takes  the  very  life  out  of  him,  and  threatens  to  develop  a 
generation  of  dull,  cheerless  and  resistless  workers. 

"The  sucking  out  of  the  life  juice  from  these  helpless 
and  defenseless  creatures,  the  destruction  of  all  joys  of 
life  right  at  the  threshold  of  life,  the  consumption  of  the 
seed  of  manhood  right  from  the  stem  —  that,  more  than 
anything  else,  is  the  sin  of  the  capitalist  rule  against  the 
present  generation;  it  is  also  a  criminal  interference  with 
the  future!"  exclaims  the  eloquent  Rosa  Luxemburg, 
speaking  on  the  subject  of  child  labor.* 

Socialism,  which  ever  strives  for  the  highest  physical, 
mental  and  moral  development  of  the  working  class,  and 
centers  its  hopes  on  the  rising  generation  of  workers, 
naturally  sees  in  child  labor  one  of  the  greatest  obstacles 
to  its  progress,  and  combats  it  by  all  means  at  its  command. 

The  socialists  favor  all  legislation  for  the  restriction  of 

*  Quoted  by  Kate  Duncker  in  "Die  Kinderarbeit  und  ihre  Bekamp- 
fung,"  Stuttgart,  1906. 


230  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

child  labor,  and  consistently  support  every  measure  tend- 
ing in  that  direction.  But  unlike  the  ideologist  champions 
of  the  cause  of  child  labor,  who  are  of  late  developing  con- 
siderable activity,  especially  in  the  United  States  and  in 
England,  they  realize  that  the  evil  cannot  be  wholly  cured 
by  mere  laws  for  the  abolition  or  limitation  of  child  labor. 
The  alarming  spread  of  child  labor  is  largely  a  symptom 
of  the  dire  poverty  of  the  working  class.  It  is  true  that  in 
some  instances  children  are  sent  to  work  by  their  parents 
out  of  thoughtlessness  or  cupidity,  but  these  instances 
may  be  safely  set  down  as  rare  exceptions.  As  a  rule  the 
parents  of  the  working  class  feel  very  keenly  the  dreadful 
sacrifice  involved  in  the  offering  of  their  immature  and 
tender-bodied  children  on  the  altar  of  the  profit-grinding 
machine,  and  only  the  most  implacable  need  will  induce 
them  to  do  so.  Speaking  of  the  beginnings  of  child  work 
in  the  English  factories,  John  Spargo  remarks:  "To  get 
children  for  the  cotton  mills  was  not  easy  at  first.  Parental 
love  and  pride  were  ranged  against  the  new  system,  deny- 
ing its  demands.  Accustomed  to  the  old  domestic  system, 
the  association  of  all  members  of  the  family  in  manufacture 
as  part  of  the  domestic  life,  they  regarded  the  new  indus- 
trial forms  with  repugnance.  It  was  considered  a  degra- 
dation for  a  cliild  to  be  sent  into  the  factories,  especially 
for  a  girl,  whose  life  would  be  blasted  thereby.  The 
term  'factory  girl'  was  an  insulting  epithet.  .  .  .  Not 
till  they  were  forced  by  sheer  hunger  and  misery,  through 
the  reduction  of  wages  to  the  level  of  starvation,  could  the 
respectable  workers  be  induced  to  send  their  children  into 
the  factories."  ^ 

It  may  be  argued  that  if  the  workingman  be  deprived 

»  "The  Bitter  Cry  of  the  Children,"  New  York,  1906,  pp.  130,  131. 


THE   INDUSTRIAL   REFORM   MOVEMENTS  23 1 

of  the  earnings  of  his  children  by  legal  enactment,  he 
would  be  compelled  in  the  long  run  to  force  up  his  wages 
to  a  higher  level,  and  thus  to  make  up  for  the  impairment 
of  the  family  income.  And  there  is  certainly  much  justice 
in  the  argument.  But  its  weakness  lies  in  the  proviso  — 
*'in  the  long  run."  Few  workingmen's  families  can  stand 
a  decrease  in  their  meager  incomes  for  any  length  of  time. 

Capitalism  holds  the  workers  in  the  grip  of  a  vicious 
circle:  the  poverty  of  the  wage-earning  father  sends  his 
child  to  the  factory,  and  the  competition  of  the  child  in 
the  factory  increases  the  father's  poverty  and  makes  it 
ever  harder  for  him  to  dispense  with  the  scanty  additional 
earnings  of  the  child. 

To  cope  effectively  with  the  evil,  it  is  necessary  to  attack 
its  very  root  and  source,  the  poverty  of  the  working  class. 
The  child-labor  problem  is  but  one  phase  of  the  larger 
labor  problem  and  cannot  be  solved  separately. 

The  socialist  demand  for  greater  restriction  of  child 
labor  derives  its  main  strength  and  effectiveness  from  its 
connection  with  the  demands  for  other  industrial  reforms 
contained  in  the  socialist  program. 

Woman  Labor 

In  its  history,  and  partly  also  in  its  social  effects,  the 
problem  of  woman  labor  is  somewhat  similar  to  that  of 
child  labor,  but  its  solution  presents  a  different  and  con- 
siderably more  complex  question. 

With  the  introduction  of  the  machine  and  of  the  factory 
system,  the  personal  training  and  physical  strength  of  the 
workingman  rapidly  lost  their  importance  in  the  process  of 
production.     What  the  capitalist   demanded  was  cheap 


232  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

labor  rather  than  skilled  labor,  and  next  to  the  labor  of 
the  child  that  of  the  woman  was  and  is  the  cheapest 
commodity  in  the  labor  market. 

The  working  woman  is  in  the  majority  of  cases  not 
called  upon  to  support  a  family,  as  is  the  workingman. 
As  a  rule  her  earnings  are  but  a  subsidiary  source  of  the 
family  income :  her  wages  are  intended  only  to  add  some- 
what to  those  of  her  husband  or  father.  The  position  of 
the  working  woman  in  industry  is  furthermore  not  as  per- 
manent as  that  of  the  man  or  even  the  boy  —  the  woman 
often,  though  by  far  not  as  a  rule,  quits  the  factory  on  her 
marriage.  And  finally,  the  work  of  the  married  woman 
is  not  as  steady  as  that  of  the  man ;  it  is  necessarily  inter- 
rupted by  the  periods  of  pregnancy  and  childbed.  The 
wants  of  the  working  woman  are  thus  comparatively  small 
and  her  power  of  resistance  is  weak.  Women  rarely 
organize  into  compact  and  permanent  trade  unions,  they 
seldom  strike  or  revolt,  and  they  are  for  that  reason  better 
objects  of  capitalist  exploitation  than  men. 

"It  is,"  observes  Mr.  Hobson,  "the  general  industrial 
weakness  of  the  condition  of  most  women  workers,  and  not 
a  sex  prejudice,  which  prevents  them  from  receiving  the 
wages  which  men  might  get,  if  the  work  the  women  do 
were  left  for  male  competition  alone."  ^ 

In  the  earlier  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  ex- 
ploitation of  factory  women  grew  so  unbridled  and  their 
treatment  so  brutal  that  the  parliaments  and  legislatures 
of  the  most  advanced  countries  found  themselves  impelled 
to  take  official  cognizance  of  the  situation,  and  to  attempt 
to  cure  some  of  the  worst  evils  of  woman  labor  by  legis- 
lative enactments. 


1  (( 


Problems  of  Poverty,"  p.  158. 


THE  INDUSTRIAL   REFORM   MOVEMENTS  233 

The  first  measure  in  that  direction  was  the  English  act 
of  1842,  which  prohibited  underground  work  for  women 
as  well  as  for  children,  and  that  act  was  followed  by  several 
other  measures  at  long  intervals,  the  effect  of  which  was 
to  limit  and  regulate  to  some  extent  the  labor  of  women 
in  industries.  Similar  laws  were  also  enacted  in  other 
countries,  but  on  the  whole  these  laws  are  even  less  radical 
and  effective  than  those  dealing  with  child  labor. 

The  wages  of  women  workers  were  hardly  affected  by 
these  measures.  They  are  still  much  below  those  of  their 
male  companions  in  the  factories,  even  though  their  work 
may  be  equally  efficient.  Out  of  782  instances  selected  at 
random  by  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Labor  in 
1897,  in  which  men  and  women  worked  at  the  same  occu- 
pation and  performed  their  work  with  the  same  degree  of 
efficiency,  men  received  greater  pay  in  595,  or  76.1  per 
cent  of  the  instances,  and  their  pay  in  these  instances  was 
50.1  per  cent  greater  than  that  of  the  women. 

The  average  wage  of  the  factory  woman  in  the  United 
States  is  about  $5  per  week,  while  in  Great  Britain  the 
working  woman  earns  about  11  shillings  per  week.  But 
it  must  be  remembered  that  these  averages  are  greatly 
swelled  by  the  higher  pay  of  women  in  exceptional  posi- 
tions, and  also  that  they  apply  to  factory  work  only.  The 
female  sweatshop  and  house  workers  receive  much  more 
wretched  pay. 

It  is,  therefore,  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  number 
of  women  employed  in  the  industries  is  growing  steadily 
and  rapidly.  In  the  United  States,  in  which  the  woman 
engaged  in  industry  was  a  rare  exception  at  the  beginning 
of  the  last  century,  the  number  of  women  engaged  in 
gainful  occupation  rose  to  almost  4,000,000  in  1890.     In 


234  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

France  there  were  6,382,658  women  engaged  in  the  dif- 
ferent industries  of  the  country  as  against  12,061,121  men, 
and  in  Germany  the  rapid  growth  of  the  number  of  women 
engaged  in  the  factories  alone  is  shown  by  the  following 
eloquent  figures :  — 

1895 664,116 

1899 884,239 

1904 1,1 19^713 

1905 1,180,894 

1906 1,244,964 

These  figures  include  the  female  children.  In  England 
half  of  the  grown-up  women  are,  according  to  Mr.  John 
A.  Hobson,  wage  laborers. 

The  socialists  are  not  opposed  to  woman  labor  as  such. 
They  recognize  that  woman  occupies  a  legitimate  and 
lasting  position  in  industry  and  that  the  growing  im- 
portance of  her  role  in  all  spheres  of  the  social,  political 
and  economic  life  of  modern  nations  is  fully  in  keeping 
with  the  march  of  social  progress.  But  they  combat  the 
special  evils  and  abuses  of  woman  labor.  And  these 
abuses  are  many. 

The  woman,  when  not  burdened  with  a  family  of  young 
children  depending  on  her  care  and  guidance,  is  just  as 
fit  to  work  as  the  man  ;  but  the  woman  with  a  large  family, 
and  the  woman  in  a  condition  of  pregnancy,  or  immediately 
after  childbirth,  has  enougii  useful  and  necessary  work  to 
perform  at  home.  Her  work  in  the  factory  under  such 
conditions  is  not  a  proud  assertion  of  the  rights  of  woman, 
but  a  pitiful  and  tragic  surrender  of  her  maternal  duties 
and  feelings  to  the  cruel  exigencies  of  dire  poverty.  And 
her  work  under  such  conditions  causes  incalculable  physi- 
cal and  moral  harm  to  her  and  her  progeny. 


THE  INDUSTRIAL   REFORM   MOVEMENTS  235 

The  small  pay  of  the  working  women,  furthermore,  con- 
stantly tends  to  drag  down  the  wages  of  their  husbands, 
fathers  and  brothers  to  an  even  lower  level. 

The  efforts  of  the  socialists  are,  therefore,  directed 
primarily  towards  raising  the  wages  of  the  adult  male 
worker,  the  father  of  the  workingman  family,  to  a  point 
where  they  would  be  sufficient  to  meet  the  necessary  re- 
quirements of  all  members  of  his  family,  including  those  of 
his  young  children  and  their  mother.  Only  thus  can  the 
inhuman  evils  of  forced  woman  labor  be  effectively  cured. 

For  the  remaining  female  workers  in  industry,  the  social- 
ists demand  equal  pay  for  equal  work,  and  they  strive  to 
interest  the  working  women  in  the  organizations  of  the 
workingmen,  and  to  secure  their  cooperation  in  the  strug- 
gle for  the  improvement  of  the  conditions  of  labor  of  both 
sexes. 

The  abuses  of  woman  labor  and  the  exploitation  of 
child  labor  are  logical  and  necessary  accompaniments  of 
the  competitive  system  of  industry.  It  lies  in  the  nature 
of  capitalism  to  stimulate  competition  in  the  labor  market 
by  opposing  sex  to  sex,  age  to  age  and  nationality  to 
nationality,  and  as  long  as  the  system  endures,  its  inherent 
abuses  cannot  be  entirely  removed.  Socialism  alone 
offers  a  complete  cure  for  the  evils  of  woman  and  child 
labor.  But  even  such  imperfect  and  partial  remedies  as 
may  be  secured  under  the  present  system  will  be  effect- 
ive only  if  obtained  in  pursuance  of  a  consistent  pro- 
gram of  labor  reform  in  all  of  its  branches  and  as  a 
result  of  a  strong  and  planful  movement  on  the  part  of 
the  workers  organized  industrially  and  politically. 


236  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

The  Trade  Union  Movement 

In  their  efforts  to  secure  radical  and  lasting  industrial 
reform,  and  we  may  add,  in  their  expectations  of  the  ulti- 
mate realization  of  their  entire  program,  the  socialists 
thus  rely  not  on  their  own  strength,  but  also  on  the  co- 
operation of  the  industrial  organization  of  the  working 
class.  This  industrial  organization  is  represented  chiefly 
by  the  trade  union  movement,  and  the  role  of  that  move- 
ment in  the  progress  of  industrial  reform  and  the  reciprocal 
relations  between  it  and  the  socialist  movement,  are  ques- 
tions of  large  moment  in  the  practical  work  of  socialism. 

Trade  unionism  and  socialism  have  a  common  origin, 
and  are  both  the  products  and  expression  of  an  advanced 
stage  of  the  class  struggle  between  capitalism  and  labor. 

In  England,  France,  Italy,  Australia  and  the  United 
States,  the  modern  trade  union  movement  preceded  the 
socialist  movement;  in  Germany,  Austria  and  Russia, 
the  trade  unions  are  largely  the  creation  of  socialists,  while 
in  Sweden,  Norway,  Denmark,  Belgium  and  Holland,  both 
movements  developed  almost  simultaneously.  In  the 
Anglo-Saxon  countries  the  trade  unions  have  developed 
a  greater  numerical  strength  than  the  socialist  parties, 
while  in  the  countries  of  continental  Europe  the  reverse 
is  true.  On  the  whole,  however,  the  total  strength  of  the 
two  movements  is  approximately  equal,  as  the  following 
figures  taken  from  the  leading  countries  will  show :  *  — 

'  The  figures  for  the  trade  union  membership  are  taken  from  the 
paper  of  Louis  de  Brouckere  on  Socialism  and  Trade  Unionism  sub- 
mitted to  the  Stuttgart  International  Congress,  1907,  and  those  for  tha 
socialist  vote  are  largely  compiled  from  the  official  reports  of  the  various 
socialist  parties  to  the  same  Congress.  The  Belgian  socialist  vote  has, 
since   June,    1908,   substantially   increased.     The   figures  for   England, 


THE  INDUSTRIAL   REFORM   MOVEMENTS 


237 


Country 

Socialist  Vote 

Trade  Union 
Membership 

Great  Britain 

Belgium 

Denmark 

Sweden 

Norway 

Germany 

Austria 

Servia 

Bulgaria 

Italy 

Spain 

Holland 

France  

United  States 

342,196 

500,000 

76,612 

26,083 

24,744 

3,251,005 

1,041,948 

30,000 

10,000 

301,525 

g,ooo 

65,743 

1,120,000 

423,969 

1,866,755 

148,483 

92,091 

114.935 
18,600 

1,822,343 

322,049 

5»o74 
8,300 

347,839 
36,557 
30,000 

800,000 
2,500,000 

Total 

7,222,825 

8,113,026 

Stating  the  proposition  in  general  and  broad  terms,  the 
trade  unions  fight  the  special  and  economic  battles  of  the 
workingmen,  while  the  Socialist  Party  represents  the  gen- 
eral interest  of  the  wage  earners  in  the  field  of  politics. 
But  on  closer  examination  the  distinction  is  by  no  means 
as  clear  and  definite  as  it  seems  at  first  sight. 

Every  trade  union  represents  primarily  the  interest  of 
the  employees  in  its  special  trade,  but  under  a  highly 
developed  state  of  factory  production  the  modern  trades 

Spain  and  Servia  are  estimated.  Owing  to  the  chaotic  electoral  system 
of  Russia  the  strong  socialist  vote  of  that  country  cannot  be  estimated. 
Neither  the  socialist  vote  nor  the  trade-union  strength  are  fully  shown  in 
the  above  table,  since  a  number  of  countries  have  had  to  be  omitted 
from  it  for  lack  of  sufficient  data.  The  total  socialist  vote  is  estimated 
as  exceeding  10,000,000;  the  total  membership  of  the  trade  unions  of 
the  world  is  about  11,000,000, 


238  SOCIALISM   AND    REFORM 

and  industries  have  come  to  be  so  closely  allied  and  inter- 
woven, that  the  workingmen  in  any  trade  can  rarely  suc- 
ceed in  their  struggles  unless  they  are  supported  by  their 
comrades  in  the  allied  trades  and  sometimes  by  organized 
labor  as  a  whole.  The  growing  practice  of  "sympathy 
strikes"  is  evidence  of  this  fact,  and  the  trade  unions 
tacitly  recognize  it  by  forming  local,  national;  and  even 
international  central  bodies  for  the  purpose  of  cooperation 
and  mutual  support  on  a  large  scale.  The  interests  repre- 
sented by  the  whole  body  of  trade  unions  thus  gradually 
become  the  general  interests  of  the  working  class  rather 
than  the  special  interests  of  the  employees  of  particular 
trades. 

With  the  enlargement  of  the  scope  of  the  trade  union 
movement,  the  very  character  of  the  movement  is  trans- 
formed :  its  economic  battles  partake  of  the  nature  of  po- 
litical struggles. 

For  the  distinction  between  economic  and  political  ac- 
tion is  one  of  degree  and  method  rather  than  of  kind  and 
substance.  The  efforts  of  the  organized  employees  of  a 
given  shop  or  craft  to  secure  and  maintain  a  reduction  of 
their  hours  of  labor  by  the  strength  of  their  own  organiza- 
tion, are  classed  as  economic  struggles.  The  efforts  of 
the  entire  organized  working  class  or  a  specific  and  uni- 
form portion  of  it  to  secure  and  maintain  the  same  reduc- 
tion of  work  hours  through  legislative  enactment,  con- 
stitute political  action.  As  the  trade  unions  in  every 
country  grow  in  numbers  and  power,  they  pay  ever  greater 
attention  to  the  more  general  phases  of  the  labor  problem 
and  are  thus  drawn  into  ever  closer  contact  with  politics. 
The  trade  unions  of  every  advanced  country  are  actively 
engaged  in  the  effort  to  secure  legislation  for  the  limitation 


THE   INDUSTRIAL    REFORM    MOVEMENTS  239 

of  child  labor,  the  regulation  of  woman  labor,  the  improve- 
ment of  the  employers'  liability  laws,  the  safeguarding  of 
dangerous  machinery  and  for  the  abatement  of  the  count- 
less other  evils  of  modern  factory  work.  And  whenever 
legislation  is  threatened  which  may  be  detrimental  to  the 
interests  of  labor  or  tend  to  curtail  the  rights  or  the  effi- 
ciency of  its  organizations,  the  unions  engage  in  an  active 
campaign  of  opposition  to  such  measures. 

"The  distinction  between  the  industrial  and  the  political 
struggles  of  the  proletariat  was  only  temporary,"  says  the 
well-known  socialist  theoretician  writing  under  the  no7n 
de  plume  of  Parvus;  "it  was  always  rather  superficial  and 
often  fictitious;  with  the  extension  of  the  scope  and  power 
of  the  strikes,  it  disappears  entirely.  Whoever  tries  to 
exclude  politics  from  the  trade  unions,  must  retard  the 
very  development  of  the  trade  unions."  * 

The  trade  unions  of  continental  Europe  fully  recognize 
this  political  phase  of  their  movement,  and  they  frankly 
ally  themselves  with  the  socialist  parties  of  their  coun- 
tries in  all  political  campaigns.  In  England  the  trade 
organizations  stubbornly  maintained  the  attitude  of  non- 
interference in  politics  until  such  time  as  they  found  their 
very  existence  menaced  by  the  legislative  and  judicial 
powers  of  the  realm.  Then  they  constituted  themselves 
into  a  political  Labor  Party,  which  declared  for  inde- 
pendent working-class  politics  and  adopted  a  radical  pro- 
gram of  political  labor  reform. 

The  only  large  body  of  trade  unions  which,  at  least  to\ 
some  extent,  still  upholds  the  fiction  of  political  indifference./ 
is  that  represented  by  the  American  Federation  of  Labor, 
and  that  fiction  is  becoming  so  incongruous  as  to 'involve 

*  Parvus,  "Der  Gewerkschaftliche  Kampf,"  Berlin,  1908. 


240  SOCIALISM  AND   REFORM 

the  organization  in  the  most  ludicrous  contradictions. 
Thus,  while  a  special  clause  in  its  constitution  prohibits 
any  affiliation  with  political  parties,  and  the  favorite  slogan 
of  the  Federation  is  "No  politics  in  the  union,"  one  of  the 
principal  objects  of  the  organization,  as  likewise  stated  in 
its  constitution,  is  "to  secure  national  legislation  in  the 
interests  of  the  working  people,"  and  every  one  of  its 
conventions  devotes  entire  days  to  the  discussion  of  politi- 
cal problems  and  demands.  In  the  election  of  1908,  the 
Federation  unofficially  supported  the  Democratic  Party. 
The  American  Federation  of  Labor  is  in  politics  just  as 
much  as  are  the  labor  unions  of  all  other  countries,  but  it 
is  the  only  large  labor  body  that  has  failed  to  organize 
q,pd  concentrate  its  forces  in  one  consistent  political  labor 

/party,  and  prefers  to  scatter  and  waste  them  in  the  sup- 

^pert  of  the  political  parties  of  the  employing  class. 

Another  distinction  frequently  drawn  between  the  trade 
union  and  the  socialist  movements  is  that  the  former  stands 
for  mere  improvements  of  the  conditions  of  labor  within 

^  the  frame  of  the  present  system,  while  the  latter  strives  for 
the  entire  abolition  of  the  wage  system.  This  distinction 
is  also  more  imaginary  than  real. 

The  object  of  all  trade  unions  is  directly  or  indirectly 
to  enhance  the  worker's  share  of  the  product,  thus  cor- 
respondingly decreasing  the  share  of  the  employer.  No 
limit  is  set  to  this  process,  and  its  logical  conclusion,  at 
least  in  abstract  theory,  is  the  entire  elimination  of  the 
capitaHst's  profits  —  the  socialization  of  industries.  The 
only  difference  between  the  socialists  and  the  trade  union- 
ists on  the  point  is  that  while  all  of  the  former  clearly 

;  realize  this  ultimate  goal  of  the  class  struggle,  many  of  the 
latter  do  not.     But  even  that  is  rapidly  changing.     The 


THE   INDUSTRIAL   REFORM   MOVEMENTS  24 1 

trade  unionists  of  Europe  are  as  a  rule  permeated  with  the 
philosophy  of  socialism,  and  the  understanding  of  that 
philosophy  gives  them  a  clearer  vision  of  their  task  and 
makes  their  struggles  more  effective.  In  the  United  States 
socialism  is  making  its  v^^ay  among  the  trade  unionists 
slowly  but  steadily. 

Thus  the  fields  of  socialism  and  trade  unionism  largely 
encroach  on  each  other,  and  the  line  of  demarcation  be- 
tween the  two  movements  is  often  blurred.  Still  it  would 
be  a  mistake  to  consider  them  as  synonymous.  Socialism 
and  trade  unionism  constitute  together  the  body  of  the 
modern  labor  movement,  and  the  separation  of  the  two 
merely  signifies  a  division  of  functions.  But  that  division 
is  essential  for  the  success  of  the  movement  as  a  whole. 
The  activity  of  the  socialist  parties  lies  primarily  in  the 
political  field :  they  translate  the  economic  struggles  of  the 
working  class  into  political  action,  formulate  its  general 
demands,  coordinate  its  special  needs,  and  always  em- 
phasize its  ultimate  aim,  while  supporting  the  immediate 
economic  battles  of  the  unions. 

The  functions  of  the  trade  unions,  on  the  other  hand, 
are  primarily  directed  to  the  sphere  of  industrial  struggle. 
They  protect  the  individual  worker  in  the  factory  against 
the  excessive  exploitation  of  the  employer,  and  they  ad- 
vance the  general  political  interests  of  their  members 
through  the  medium  of  the  sociaHst  parties.  Beyond 
these  separate  provinces  there  is,  moreover,  a  large  field  of 
action  in  which  the  labor  movement  can  achieve  success 
only  by  the  spontaneous  cooperation  of  both  of  its 
wings. 

The  most  striking  instance  of  such  joint  action  is  the 
political  mass  strike  which  has  of  late  been  resorted  to  by 


242  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

the  workingmen  of  Europe  on  a  few  extraordinary  occa- 
sions to  good  purpose. 

From  this  sketch  of  the  objects  and  methods  of  opera- 
tion of  the  two  movements,  it  will  be  readily  seen  that  their 
relations  to  each  other  must  be  of  the  closest  and  most 
cordial  character.  In  Belgium,  Denmark,  Sweden  and 
Norway,  the  membership  of  the  socialist  parties  and  the 
trade  unions  is  practically  identical,  and  the  two  organiza- 
tions may  be  considered  as  separate  committees  of  the 
same  body  created  for  the  performance  of  different  func- 
tions. In  Germany,  Austria,  Holland,  Italy  and  Russia, 
the  two  movements  are  very  closely  allied  in  all  their 
struggles.  In  England  the  Independent  Labor  Party,  one 
of  the  leading  socialist  organizations  of  the  country,  forms 
a  constituent  part  of  the  political  Labor  Party  in  the  same 
way  as  do  the  trade  unions.  In  France  the  party  and 
the  trade  unions  sometimes  quarrel,  but  it  is  always  the 
passing  quarrel  of  lovers.  In  the  United  States  alone  the 
great  body  of  organized  workingmen,  the  American  Feder- 
ation of  Labor,  has  so  far  kept  aloof  from  the  socialist 
movement. 

Cooperative  Societies  of  Workingmen 

Another  movement  that  has  of  late  years  developed 
great  strength,  and  is  coming  to  be  regarded  as  a  factor  of 
growing  importance  in  the  struggles  between  capital  and 
labor,  is  the  movement  represented  by  the  cooperative 
societies  of  workingmen. 

The  origin  of  cooperative  enterprises  for  joint  produc- 
tion, purchase,  distribution  and  consumption  of  commod- 
ities, may  be  traced  back  to  the  eighteenth  century,  but 


THE   INDUSTRIAL   REFORM    MOVEMENTS  243 

the  modern  cooperative  societies  have  as  little  in  common 
with  their  earlier  prototypes  as  the  trade  unions  have  with 
the  old  institutions  of  the  masters'  or  helpers'  guilds. 

The  cooperative  movement  of  our  day  is  a  part  of  the 
general  labor  movement,  one  of  the  manifestations,  con- 
scious or  unconscious,  of  the  general  effort  on  the  part  of 
the  workingmen  to  lessen  the  exploitation  of  their  class 
by  capitalism.  The  movement  has  developed  within  the 
last  fifty  years,  and  it  has  attained  general  extension  only 
within  the  last  two  decades. 

In  this,  as  in  many  other  practical  labor  reform 
movements,  England  led  the  procession.  The  famous 
society  of  the  Rochdale  Pioneers,  the  oldest  of  its  kind, 
was  founded  in  November,  1843,  when  twelve  poor  weav- 
ers met  in  the  back  room  of  a  miserable  inn,  and  agreed 
to  pay  20  pence  a  week  into  a  common  fund  until  they 
should  accumulate  enough  to  start  in  business  for  their 
joint  benefit.  In  a  year  their  number  had  increased  to  28 
and  their  capital  had  grown  to  ;^28.  They  rented  a  store 
and  stocked  it  with  ;^i5  worth  of  flour,  and  from  these 
modest  beginnings  the  enterprise  rapidly  grew  to  one  of 
the  most  prosperous  and  powerful  business  institutions  of 
the  country.  In  1876  the  Rochdale  Society  of  Equitable 
Pioneers  numbered  8892  members,  and  had  an  invested 
capital  of  ;;^254,ooo;  the  year's  business  amounted  to 
;^305,ooo,  and  the  society's  net  profits  were  ;^5o,5oo. 

Membership  in  the  society  is  acquired  by  the  purchase 
of  a  share  of  stock  of  the  denomination  of  £^,  but  that 
amount  may  be  paid  in  small  weekly  installments.  Each 
individual  member  may  hold  as  many  as  20  shares,  but 
no  member  has  more  than  one  vote  in  the  meetings  of  the 
society.     Out  of  the  net  profits  a  dividend  of  5  per  cent 


244  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

per  annum  is  paid  on  the  stock,  2^  per  cent  is  set  apart  for 
an  education  fund,  and  the  balance  is  distributed  among 
the  members  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  their  purchases. 

In  1863  the  great  Cooperative  Wholesale  Society, 
Limited,  was  founded  as  a  sort  of  central  agency  for  a 
number  of  cooperative  enterprises.  In  1872  the  year's 
sales  of  that  society  already  reached  the  enormous  sum 
of  ;^i>i53»i32-  The  society  originally  confined  itself  to 
purchasing  commodities  at  wholesale  and  selling  them  to  its 
members  (individual  associations)  at  retail,  but  gradually 
it  embarked  in  the  field  of  independent  manufacture, 
and  with  its  ready  market  and  large  capital  its  efforts  in 
that  direction  have  been  signally  successful.  To-day  the 
society  operates  extensive  biscuit,  soap,  boot  and  clothing 
factories,  woolen  and  corn  mills,  cocoa  works  and  jam 
canneries ;  it  runs  a  large  printing  establishment,  conducts 
building  operations,  and  has  a  fleet  of  its  own  in  connection 
with  its  shipping  department.  It  has  branches  in  several 
of  the  principal  cities  of  England  and  maintains  purchas- 
ing agencies  in  several  other  countries.  It  is  on  the  whole 
one  of  the  largest  establishments  of  the  world.  In  1905 
its  capital  exceeded  ;^3 ,300,000;  its  sales  amounted  to 
;;^2o,785,469,  and  its  net  profits  were  ;^368,309. 

The  Scottish  Cooperative  Wholesale  Society  is  an 
enterprise  of  almost  similar  magnitude,  and  a  large  num- 
ber of  other  independent  cooperative  societies  exist  in 
England,  Scotland  and  Ireland.  In  1907  the  Central 
Board  of  the  Cooperative  Union  of  the  United  Kingdom 
received  reports  from  1566  societies  having  a  total  mem- 
bership of  2,434,085.  The  aggregate  sales  of  these  socie- 
ties exceeded  £105,000,000,  and  their  net  profits  were 
over  £12,000,000. 


THE   INDUSTRIAL   REFORM   MOVEMENTS  245 

But  notwithstanding  its  enormous  business  success,  the 
cooperative  movement  is  less  of  a  factor  in  the  labor 
struggles  of  Great  Britain  than  in  most  other  countries  of 
Europe.  The  British  cooperatives  are  honeycombed 
with  middle  class  elements  and  middle-class  notions. 
They  are  conspicuously  devoid  of  large  class  ideals,  and 
are  held  together  principally  by  the  paltry  material  bene- 
fits of  the  movements. 

In  all  these  features  the  cooperative  societies  of  Great 
Britain  stand  in  marked  contrast  to  those  of  Belgium, 
which  are  closely  allied  with  the  socialist  and  trade  union 
movements. 

The  oldest  of  the  modern  cooperative  societies  in  Bel- 
gium is  the  famous  Vooruit  (Forward)  of  Ghent.  It  was 
organized  in  1880  at  the  initiative  of  the  socialist  leader, 
Edouard  Anseele,  and  its  first  enterprise  was  a  bakery  in 
a  cellar  equipped  and  operated  with  a  capital  of  84  francs 
and  95  centimes.  The  undertaking  was  an  immediate 
success,  and  was  enlarged  and  extended  from  year  to  year. 
At  this  writing  the  amount  of  its  annual  business  exceeds 
3,000,000  francs,  and  its  yearly  profits  are  over  400,000 
francs.  The  bakery  produces  over  100,000  kilos  of  bread 
per  week.  In  1903  the  Vooruit  conducted  four  drug 
stores,  seven  groceries,  a  bookbinding  shop,  a  cigar  fac- 
tory, a  foundry  and  one  of  the  largest  dry  goods  stores  in 
the  city. 

Its  Feestlokaal,  or  assembly  hall,  is  located  in  Rue  des 
Baguettes,  in  the  most  aristocratic  quarters  of  Ghent.  ''  It 
was  once  the  property  of  the  most  select  bourgeois  club  of 
the  town,"  relate  Destree  and  Vandervelde.  "When  the 
members  of  the  club  found  that  it  was  too  expensive  for 
them,  the  workingmen  of  Ghent  purchased  it  through  the 


246  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

intermediary  of  a  dummy,  and  rents  in  Rue  de  Baguettes 
at  once  dropped  50  per  cent.  In  the  gardens  in  which  the 
ladies  of  high  bourgeois  society  had  formerly  promenaded, 
hundreds  of  factory  girls  are  now  dancing  on  Sundays. 
In  the  concerts  the  Marseillaise  has  replaced  the  Bra- 
hangonne;  the  red  flag  supplanted  the  tricolor,  and 
on  the  holidays  of  labor  the  peaceful  bourgeois,  looking 
from  behind  their  curtains,  see  the  black  columns  of  work- 
ingmen  marching  through  the  quiet  street  like  the  torch- 
bearers  of  the  revolution."  ^ 

The  next  cooperative  society  of  import^vnce  to  be  or- 
ganized in  Belgium  was  the  Maison  du  Peuple  (House  of 
the  People)  of  Brussels,  founded  in  1882. 

Of  the  history  of  this  society  Louis  Bertrand  relates  the 
following:  "A  group  of  workingmen  of  all  trades  decided 
to  create  a  cooperative  bakery.  Each  member  promised 
to  contribute  10  francs  in  weekly  payments  of  25  to  50 
centimes.  In  a  few  months  the  society  had  80  members 
on  its  list  and  700  francs  in  its  treasury.  These  80  mem- 
bers needed  about  120  loaves  of  bread  of  one  kilogram 
each  per  day.  They  hired  a  cellar  containing  a  bake  oven 
at  a  rental  of  35  francs  per  month.  .  .  .  Only  one  baker 
was  employed.  In  the  morning  he  would  bake  his  bread 
and  in  the  afternoon  he  would  carry  it  to  the  houses  of  the 
members.  This  was  not  an  easy  matter,  for  the  mem- 
bers lived  in  all  parts  of  the  city  and  in  the  suburbs.  .  .  . 
Gradually  the  number  of  members  rose  from  80  to  250. 
At  the  end  of  four  years  it  had  400  members.  It  was 
necessary  to  rent  a  larger  place  and  to  install  modern  bake 
ovens  and  a  mechanical  kneading  trough. 

*  "Le  Socialisme  en  Belgique,"  par  Jules  Destree  et  6mile  Vander- 
velde,  2d  Edition,  Paris,  1903,  p.  47. 


THE  INDUSTRIAL   REFORM   MOVEMENTS  247 

"In  1886  the  cooperative  hired  a  large  hall  for  5000 
francs  per  year,  and  placed  it  at  the  disposal  of  the  labor 
organizations  and  socialists  of  Brussels.  In  less  than  ten 
years  the  hall  had  become  too  small,  and  the  cooperative 
decided  to  build  a  new  one."  ^ 

To-day  the  society  counts  about  21,000  members,  which 
on  the  basis  of  5  persons  to  the  family,  makes  about 
105,000  consumers. 

The  Maison  du  Peuple  operates  the  largest  baking 
establishment  in  Belgium,  and  sells  over  ten  million  kilos 
of  bread  per  year.  The  society  besides  conducts  various 
other  enterprises,  and  its  building,  the  new  Maison  du 
Peuple,  is  a  veritable  palace  of  labor,  costing  1,200,000 
francs. 

The  cooperative  society  Progres,  founded  in  1886,  is  in 
some  respects  even  more  influential  than  either  of  the  two 
described.  Its  region  extends  over  the  entire  industrial 
district  between  Charleroi  and  Mons,  and  its  four  mag- 
nificent buildings  erected  in  different  parts  of  the  district 
are  the  principal  gathering  points  of  the  socialists  and 
organized  workingmen  of  the  neighborhood. 

All  told,  the  number  of  cooperative  societies  in 
Belgium  in  1907  was  2582.  Of  these  630  were  so- 
cieties for  distribution,  209  were  productive  societies, 
21  were  societies  for  cooperative  dwellings,  52  were  in- 
dustrial and  1302  were  agricultural  credit  associations. 
The  membership  of  the  distributive  societies  consisted  of 
119,581  famiHes,  their  aggregate  sales  for  the  year  1906 
amounted  to  31,174,552  francs,  and  their  net  profits  for 
that  year  were  3,035,940  francs. 

The   workingmen's    cooperatives    of   Belgium    are    all 

^  "Historie  de  la  Cooperative  en  Belgique,"  Brussels,  1902. 


248  SOCIALISM   AND    REFORM 

affiliated  with  the  Federation  of  Belgian  Socialist  Coop- 
eratives, founded  in  1900  principally  for  the  purpose  of 
wholesale  purchases.  The  rules  of  all  societies  thus 
affiliated  with  the  Federation  are  practically  uniform,  and 
the  constitutions  of  the  societies  expressly  declare  "that 
the  society  is  above  all  a  political  socialist  group,  and  that 
the  members  by  subscribing  to  the  constitution  signify 
their  adherence  to  the  program  of  the  Labor  Party." 
The  members  of  the  cooperatives  and  their  families  form 
the  basis  of  the  Belgian  Labor  Party,  and  in  times  of  elec- 
toral campaigns  they  constitute  themselves  into  political 
committees.  Around  the  cooperatives  and  in  their  spa- 
cious halls  are  grouped  the  trade  unions,  the  sociaHst  or- 
ganizations, the  social  and  educational  clubs  of  working- 
men,  and  the  editorial  rooms  of  the  socialist  papers.  The 
cooperatives  expend  a  considerable  portion  of  their  profits 
on  socialist  propaganda  in  all  forms  and  in  the  support  of 
the  struggles  of  trade  unions.  In  a  word,  the  cooperatives 
in  Belgium  are  the  center  of  the  socialist  and  labor  move- 
ment. In  the  electoral  campaign  of  1900  they  printed 
and  distributed  at  their  own  expense  two  million  socialist 
booklets. 

The  development  of  the  cooperative  movement  in  Ger- 
many has  followed  a  somewhat  peculiar  course  owing  to 
special  historical  and  political  conditions.  In  the  period 
of  the  beginnings  of  the  socialist  and  labor  movement  in 
Germany,  the  problem  of  cooperative  enterprises  played 
a  very  important  role.  Schulze-Delitsch,  one  of  the  heads 
of  the  Liberal  Party  and  an  ardent  apostle  of  the  doctrine 
of  "self-help,"  headed  a  large  movement  for  the  organiza- 
tion of  voluntary  cooperative  societies  chiefly  for  produc- 
tion, as  a  complete  solution  of  the  labor  question.     It  was 


THE   INDUSTRIAL   REFORM    MOVEMENTS  249 

a  middle-class  movement,  its  theoretical  foundation  was 
unsound  and  reactionary,  and  the  design  of  its  promoters 
seemed  to  be  to  deter  the  working  class  from  independent 
labor  politics.  To  this  movement  Ferdinand  Lassalle 
opposed  his  famous  plan  of  cooperative  productive  asso- 
ciations with  state  credit,  a  plan  which  involved  the  con- 
quest of  universal  suffrage  by  the  workingmen  and  the 
democratization  of  the  state,  i.e.,  working-class  political 
action.  The  struggle  between  Lassalle  and  Schulze  on 
the  issue  of  state  credit  as  against  self-help,  assumed  the 
form  of  a  struggle  between  socialism  and  liberalism.  The 
socialists  concentrated  their  forces  on  politics,  while  the 
liberals  gained  control  of  the  voluntary  cooperative  move- 
ment. Under  the  leadership  of  Schulze-Delitsch  and  his 
successors  the  latter  grew  up,  large  in  size,  but  weak  and 
inefficient  in  spirit.  It  laid  the  greatest  stress  on  pro- 
ductive associations,  and  encouraged  associations  for 
credit,  but  regarded  societies  for  distribution  and  con- 
sumption with  a  certain  degree  of  suspicion. 

The  socialists  had  but  little  esteem  for  the  cooperative 
movement  under  those  circumstances. 

But  in  the  meanwhile  the  expiration  of  the  anti-socialist 
laws  in  1890  set  free  a  large  quantity  of  stored-up  energy  in 
the  radical  workingmen  of  Germany.  They  inaugurated 
a  vigorous  activity  in  all  domains  of  the  labor  movement, 
and  among  others  they  entered  the  ranks  of  cooperative 
societies  for  consumption  in  large  numbers.  This  influx 
of  socialists  so  perturbed  the  leaders  of  the  conservative 
cooperative  movement  that  in  1902  they  expelled  by  a 
coup  d'etat  99  societies  for  consumption  on  the  ground  of 
their  social  democratic  tendencies.  In  May  of  the  next 
year  these  called  a  convention  at  Dresden  which  was  at- 


250  SOCIALISxM   AND   REFORM 

tended  by  representatives  of  621  associations  for  con- 
sumption, largely  composed  of  workingmen  with  socialist 
tendencies.  At  that  convention  was  organized  the  Cen- 
tral Union  of  German  Societies  for  Consumption,  which 
is  now  the  leading  organization  in  that  field.  Towards 
the  end  of  1907  there  were  in  Germany  21 10  societies  for 
consumption,  with  a  total  membership  of  about  1,131,453. 
Of  these  the  Central  Union  represented  959  societies,  with 
a  total  of  879,221  members.  The  societies  affiliated  with 
it  thus  represented  77  per  cent  of  the  entire  membership 
of  the  German  consumptive  organizations.  They  em- 
ployed 12,783  persons  and  conducted  about  2500  stores, 
with  a  total  invested  capital  of  25,000,000  marks.  Their 
business  for  the  year  was  303,794,452  marks,  and  their 
profits  were  more  than  20,000,000  marks. 

With  the  separation  of  the  radical  societies  for  con- 
sumption from  the  liberal  cooperative  movement,  the  re- 
lations between  the  former  and  the  socialists  grew  closer 
and  more  cordial,  and  to-day  both  work  in  complete  har- 
mony. 

The  cooperative  movements  in  the  other  countries  have 
developed  various  degrees  of  strength  and  usefulness,  and 
their  period  of  greatest  growth  lies  almost  invariably 
within  the  last  two  decades. 

In  Italy  a  special  feature  of  the  movement  is  presented 
by  the  cooperatives  of  the  day  laborers,  who  hire  out  their 
joint  work  under  contract,  and  subdivide  it  among  them- 
selves in  separate  gangs,  supplying  the  necessary  tools 
out  of  the  common  fund  and  sharing  the  contract  price. 
The  effect  of  such  cooperation  is  to  eliminate  the  profit  of 
the  padrone.  In  1906  Italy  had  2792  cooperative  socie- 
ties, doing  a  total  business  of  over  600,000,000  francs. 


THE   INDUSTRIAL   REFORM   MOVEMENTS  25 1 

Eight  hundred  and  fifty-one  of  these  societies  were  purely 
consumptive,  454  were  productive  societies,  350  were 
cooperative  societies  for  credit,  while  the  remainder  con- 
sisted of  labor,  agricultural  and  mixed  societies. 

In  Sweden  the  object  of  cooperative  societies  is  almost 
exclusively  joint  farming  and  building.  Out  of  the  2524 
cooperative  societies  reporting  in  1906,  all  but  382  be- 
longed to  that  class.  The  character  of  the  cooperative 
organizations  in  Finland  and  Holland  is  very  similar  to 
the  organization  of  Sweden. 

France  had  in  1904  about  5500  cooperative  societies,  of 
which  more  than  3000  are  agricultural  associations.  Aus- 
tria, Switzerland,  Holland  and  Denmark  have  also  de- 
veloped noteworthy  cooperative  movements.  The  United 
States  is  the  most  backward  country  in  this  field. 

Victor  Serwy,  at  that  time  Secretary  of  the  International 
Socialist  Bureau,  computed  that  in  1901  there  were  56,623 
known  cooperative  societies  in  the  world. 

Cooperative  societies  may  be  divided  into  a  large  num- 
ber of  distinct  groups  according  to  the  objects  pursued 
and  methods  employed  by  them,  but  we  are  concerned 
with  those  of  them  only  that  may  be  fairly  said  to  form  a 
part  of  the  labor  movement.  These  may  be  divided  into 
enterprises  for  cooperative  production  and  enterprises  for 
cooperative  consumption  or  distribution. 

The  productive  societies  are  of  special  value  for  trade 
unions  in  conjunction  with  their  struggles  against  their 
employers,  and  they  often  do  good  service  in  offering 
a  refuge  to  blacklisted  strike  leaders  or  other  active 
union  members.  But  as  a  rule  they  attain  a  measure  of 
business  success  only  when  conducted  in  conjunction  with 
societies   for   consumption.     As    independent   enterprises 


252  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

they  generally  fail.  A  manufacturing  establishment  in 
modern  times  cannot  succeed  unless  it  is  provided  with  the 
capital  which  its  large  competitors  command,  and  employs 
the  same  methods  as  they.  And  the  workingmen-found- 
ers  of  productive  associations  as  a  rule  do  not  possess  the 
required  capital  nor  can  they  employ  the  countless  cus- 
tomary methods  of  labor  exploitation. 

The  cooperative  societies  for  consumption,  on  the  other 
hand,  have  proved  themselves  almost  uniformly  successful 
from  the  point  of  view  of  business. 

The  socialists  do  not  foster  the  illusion  that  voluntary 
cooperative  societies  of  labor,  either  for  production  or  for 
consumption,  could  gradually  and  by  the  strength  of  their 
own  development,  supersede  the  prevalent  capitalist 
methods  of  production  and  distribution.  They  do  not 
even  attach  great  importance  to  the  cooperatives  as  factors 
in  the  general  improvement  and  elevation  of  the  material 
conditions  of  the  workers.  But  they  regard  them  as  use- 
ful auxiliaries  in  the  struggles  of  the  working  class  as  sources 
of  ammunition  in  those  struggles,  and  as  effective  schools 
for  the  training  of  the  workingmen  in  the  administration 
of  industries  and  in  the  sense  of  the  solidarity  of  their 
class. 

The  general  attitude  of  socialism  towards  the  cooperative 
movement  of  the  workingmen  was  defined  by  the  social 
democrats  of  Germany  in  a  resolution  adopted  at  the 
convention  of  their  party  at  Hanover  in  1899,  in  the  fol- 
lowing language :  — 

"The  attitude  of  the  party  towards  the  cooperative  in- 
dustrial associations  is  one  of  neutrality.  It  considers  the 
organization  of  such  associations,  when  the  necessary  con- 
ditions of  their  success  are  present,  as  calculated  to  intro- 


THE   INDUSTRIAL   REFORM   MOVEMENTS  253 

duce  improvements  in  the  economic  situation  of  their 
members,  and  it  also  sees  in  such  associations,  as  in  every 
organization  of  the  workingmen  for  the  protection  and 
promotion  of  their  interests,  a  proper  medium  for  the 
education  of  the  working  class  in  the  independent  direc- 
tion of  its  affairs.  The  party  does  not  attribute  to  such 
associations  a  determining  importance  for  the  liberation 
of  the  working  class  from  the  chains  of  wage  slavery." 


CHAPTER  III 

workingmen's  insurance 

One  of  the  greatest  evils  of  the  modern  system  of  wage 
labor  is  the  uncertainty  of  the  worker's  existence  under  it. 
So  long  as  the  wage  earner  is  in  normal  good  health  and 
his  employment  is  tolerably  steady,  he  manages  to  eke  out 
a  precarious  living  for  himself  and  those  dependent  on  him. 
In  times  of  prosperity  the  laborer,  and  especially  the 
skilled  mechanic,  may  even  save  up  a  modest  sum  for  a 
rainy  day. 

But  suddenly  his  work  is  interrupted  and  his  earnings 
cease.  A  dull  season  may  throw  him  out  of  employment 
for  weeks,  or  a  general  industrial  depression  may  close  the 
doors  of  the  factory  against  him  for  months.  His  scanty 
savings,  if  he  has  any,  dvv^indlc  and  disappear  with  frightful 
rapidity,  and  in  a  short  time  the  worker  finds  himself  con- 
fronted with  the  menace  of  actual  starvation.  Or  he  sud- 
denly falls  sick  in  the  midst  of  great  industrial  activity,  and 
is  rendered  physically  incapable  for  a  protracted  period  of 
time.  To  the  workingman  health  means  not  only  well- 
being  and  happiness,  it  means  his  bread  and  the  bread  of 
his  family;  sickness  for  him  is  not  only  physical  discom- 
fort, it  is  often  helpless,  bottomless  destitution. 

But  the  sick  workingman  in  the  midst  of  his  distress  is 
at  least  comforted  with  the  hope  of  recovery,  with  the  hope 
of  eventual  resumption  of  his  work  and  life.     How  much 

254 


WORKINGMEN'S   INSURANCE  255 

more  desperate  is  the  lot  of  the  man  crippled  in  his  em- 
ployment. The  workingman  whose  principal,  if  not  sole 
claim,  to  life  lies  in  the  deftness  of  his  fingers,  in  the 
strength  of  his  arm  or  in  the  muscles  of  his  leg,  is  in  con- 
stant danger  of  being  robbed  of  his  limbs  and  strength  by 
his  perfidious  and  bloodthirsty  shopmate,  the  iron  monster 
Tiachine,  ever  on  the  alert  for  a  sign  of  weariness  or  re- 
laxation on  his  part,  ever  ready  to  assail  him  unawares. 
And  when  the  hapless  worker  has  been  maimed  and  in- 
validated in  the  service  of  his  fellow-men,  our  Christian 
society  does  not  reward  him  for  his  sacrifice,  does  not  in- 
demnify him  for  his  loss,  does  not  even  extend  a  pitying 
hand  to  comfort  him  in  his  misfortune,  but  casts  him  aside 
mercilessly  and  unfeelingly,  and  quietly  lets  him  perish, 
passing  on  to  the  next  victim. 

And  if  this  cruel  fate  may  accidentally  overtake  any 
workingman  in  the  prime  of  his  life  and  strength,  a  similar 
lot  is  almost  certain  to  befall  all  workingmen  at  a  more 
advanced  age. 

"Not  less  tragic  than  the  position  of  the  unemployed 
workman,"  observes  Mr.  George  Turner,  "is  that  of  the 
aged  craftsman.  The  man  who  does  not  give  the  fullest 
measure  of  work  for  his  weekly  wage  is  promptly  dis- 
carded by  an  economic  system  depending  upon  alert 
competition  for  its  existence.  Fortunate  it  is  that  sixty 
per  cent  do  not  live  to  be  replaced  by  active,  able-bodied, 
hopeful  young  workmen,  and  to  be  left  destitute.  But  a 
large  minority  meets  this  fate.  Wages  of  men  from  forty- 
five  years  upwards  show  a  gradual  and  persistent  decline. 
The  roughest  forms  of  labor  are  the  first  to  suffer ;  but  in 
skilled  trades  where  deftness  of  handiwork  is  the  first 
condition  of  efficiency  and  of  continued  employment,  the 


256  SOCIALISM   AND    REFORM 

attainment  of  fifty-five  years  of  age  is  usually  accompanied 
by  a  reduction  of  earnings."  * 

This  uncertainty  of  existence,  the  constant  menace  of 
unemployment,  of  sickness,  accidents  and  old  age,  which 
hangs  over  the  head  of  every  modern  wage  earner  like  the 
sword  of  Damocles,  is  intimately  linked  with  the  system  of 
private  competitive  industries  and  "free"  wage  labor,  and 
as  the  system  unfolds  itself,  it  tends  to  aggravate  the  pre- 
cariousness  of  the  workingman's  life.  With  the  develop- 
ment and  perfection  of  machinery  and  the  growing  in- 
tensity of  work  and  competition,  the  "reserve  army  of  the 
unemployed"  is  constantly  on  the  increase,  industrial 
accidents  are  more  common,  the  worker  is  exhausted  and 
enfeebled  earlier  in  life,  and  the  aged  mechanic  is  rendered 
more  useless. 

The  problem  of  providing  against  these  contingencies 
has,  therefore,  naturally  engaged  the  attention  of  the 
workingmen  ever  since  the  rise  of  the  wage  system,  and 
it  has  become  a  matter  of  ever  greater  concern  to  them 
as  that  system  has  developed. 

The  first  practical  efforts  for  the  relief  of  workingmen 
in  cases  of  unemployment,  sickness,  accidents  and  old  age, 
assumed  the  form  of  private  and  voluntary  enterprises, 
undertaken  by  workingmen,  and  sometimes  by  employers 
of  labor.  To  the  former  class  belong  the  trade  unions  and 
other  labor  organizations  which  furnish  relief  to  their 
members  out  of  work  from  funds  raised  among  themselves 
by  means  of  regular  periodical  contributions  or  assess- 
ments, and  the  numerous  fraternal  and  mutual  societies 
which  insure  their  members  in  cases  of  sickness  and  acci- 

*  "The  Case  for  State  Pensions  in  Old  Age,"  Fabian  Society,  London, 
1899. 


WORKINGMEN'S   INSURANCE  257 

dents,  and  sometimes  even  provide  for  annuities  in  old 
age.  Among  the  latter  class  must  be  counted  the  special 
funds  of  large  employers  of  labor,  notably  the  mining  and 
railroad  companies,  established  for  the  purpose  of  aiding 
their  employees  in  cases  of  sickness  and  accidents  or  of 
providing  them  with  pensions  after  a  continuous  employ- 
ment of  specified  duration.  These  funds  are  as  a  rule 
created  with  a  view  of  attracting  a  better  grade  of  work- 
ers to  the  more  dangerous  and  strenuous  trades  and  insur- 
ing their  steadiness  of  work.  In  the  United  States  they 
have  gained  but  little  extension.  In  some  countries  of 
Europe,  notably  in  France,  Belgium  and  England,  they 
play  a  much  more  important  role,  but  on  the  whole  the 
practice  is  so  rare,  and  the  benefits  of  the  system  are  so 
restricted  and  insignificant,  that  they  can  hardly  be  con- 
sidered a  serious  factor  in  the  movement  for  the  relief  of 
the  workingmen  against  the  uncertainties  of  their  existence. 

Of  much  greater  value  than  the  employers'  funds,  are 
the  cooperative  societies  of  workingmen,  such  as  the 
various  Benefit  Orders  of  the  United  States,  the  Friendly 
Societies  of  Great  Britain,  the  Societes  de  Secours  Mutuels 
of  France,  Belgium  and  Switzerland,  the  Kranken-Kassen 
of  Germany  and  Austria,  and  the  mutual  aid  associations 
of  almost  all  other  countries. 

Beginning  on  a  modest  scale  in  the  early  part  of  the  last 
century,  these  societies  soon  proved  themselves  so  essential 
to  large  masses  of  the  working  population,  and  spread  with 
such  rapidity  that  they  almost  attained  the  importance  of 
a  social  institution.  Towards  the  middle  of  last  century 
the  governments  of  the  most  advanced  countries  of  Europe 
found  themselves  impelled  to  take  official  cognizance  of 
their  existence  and  activity. 


258  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

In  England  the  first  legislative  act  affecting  the  friendly 
societies  dates  back  to  1793,  but  that  act  and  the  amend- 
atory legislation  following  it  during  more  than  half  a  cen- 
tury, did  not  materially  advance  the  standing  or  powers 
of  these  societies,  and  left  the  application  of  such  laws 
optional  with  the  societies.  The  first  laws  which  under- 
took not  only  to  regulate  but  also  in  some  degree  to  aid 
and  strengthen  the  mutual  insurance  societies  of  working- 
men,  were  the  laws  passed  in  Prussia  in  1849  ^^^  ^^  France 
and  Belgium  in  1850.  And  similar  laws  have  since  been 
adopted  by  almost  every  country  of  Europe  and  by  most 
of  the  states  in  the  United  States. 

From  government  regulation  to  government  manage- 
ment is  but  one  step,  and  in  the  matter  of  workingmen's 
insurance  this  step  was  readily  taken  in  several  countries 
of  Europe.  In  France  a  state  department  for  old-age  in- 
surance —  the  Caisse  Nationale  des  Retraites  pour  la 
Vieillesse  —  was  established  in  1850,  and  it  was  followed 
in  1868  by  a  similar  state  institution  for  accident  insur- 
ance —  the  Caisse  Nationale  d* Assurance  en  cas  (T Ac- 
cidents. 

In  Belgium  a  National  Old  Age  Pension  Bank  was 
established  by  the  government  in  1850.  In  Italy  a  semi- 
governmental  Bank  for  the  Insurance  of  Workingmen 
Against  Accidents  —  the  Cassa  Nazionale  di  Assicura- 
zione  per  gli  infortuni  degli  operai,  was  created  by  the  law 
of  July  8,  1883. 

All  these  instances  of  workingmen's  insurance  institu- 
tions managed  by  the  government  are  those  of  voluntary 
state  insurance,  i.e.,  institutions  conducted  by  the  state  as 
a  branch  of  the  government  for  the  benefit  of  those  of  its 
citizens  who  may  desire  to  take  advantage  of  them.     The 


WORKINGMEN'S   INSURANCE  259 

state  does  not  contribute  to  the  insurance  funds,  and  the 
amount  of  insurance  is  determined  on  the  basis  of  pre- 
mium payments.  The  superiority  of  such  state  insurance 
over  that  of  the  ordinary  insurance  companies  lies  in  the 
greater  safety  of  the  investment  and  in  the  fact  that  it 
excludes  the  element  of  profit. 

The  institutions  of  voluntary  state  insurance  have  no- 
where become  very  effective  or  popular  for  the  reason  that 
they  leave  the  entire  burden  of  financing  them  on  the  class 
least  capable  of  carrying  it  —  the  working  class.  Volun- 
tary state  insurance  is,  after  all,  but  another  form  of  self- 
help  in  insurance,  and  such  insurance  has,  on  the  whole, 
proved  entirely  inadequate  to  relieve  the  needs  of  the 
vast  masses  of  wage  earners  of  our  day .  Comparing  the  net 
results  of  the  various  forms  of  workingmen's  insurance, 
voluntary  and  involuntary,  at  the  close  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  M.  Maurice  Bellom  remarks :  "  It  is  impossible 
to  refrain  from  an  exclamation  of  astonishment  and  ad- 
miration in  reviewing  the  social  results  of  compulsory  in- 
surance. .  .  .  The  diffusion  of  insurance  which  the 
compulsory  organization  has  caused,  the  pecuniary  ad- 
vantages which  it  has  secured  for  the  workers,  the  ease 
with  which  it  has  enabled  employers  of  labor  to  discharge 
their  liability,  and  finally  the  benefits  of  a  better  hygiene 
which  it  has  conferred  on  the  entire  community,  have  won 
for  the  system  of  compulsory  insurance  the  general  recog- 
nition of  the  numerous  beneficiaries  of  that  system."  ^ 
Within  the  last  few  decades  the  conviction  has  grown  in 
some  of  the  most  advanced  countries  that  the  provision  of 
workingmen's  insurance  against  unemployment,  sickness, 

*  Journal  de  la  Societe  de  Siatisiique  de  Paris,  1901,  for  June,  July  and 
August. 


26o  SOCIALISM   AND    REFORM 

accidents  and  old  age,  is  not  a  matter  to  be  left  to  the  in- 
clinations or  abilities  of  individuals,  but  a  task  to  be 
assumed  by  organized  society  as  such;  that  it  is  the  duty 
of  the  state  to  guarantee  the  existence  of  the  invalids  and 
veterans  of  its  industrial  army  at  least  as  much  as  the 
existence  of  the  invalids  and  veterans  of  its  military  army 
is  now  guaranteed. 

The  first  official  proclamation  of  this  principle  is  prob- 
ably that  contained  in  the  French  constitution  of  1848, 
which  declared  "that  the  Republic  should  by  fraternal 
assistance  assure  the  existence  of  its  needy  citizens." 
"But,"  observes  Edouard  Vaillant,*  "the  victorious  reac- 
tion knew  how  to  guard  itself  against  all  practical  conse- 
quences of  its  republican  affirmations  and  declarations." 

It  was  left  to  the  imperial  government  of  Germany  to 
inaugurate  and  enforce  a  general  system  of  compulsory 
state  insurance  with  direct  state  aid.  This  revolutionary 
measure  in  the  domain  of  workingmen's  insurance  was 
first  announced  in  a  famous  message  of  Wilhelm  I  to  the 
German  Diet,  on  November  17,  1881,  and  we  quote  from 
it  the  following  passage  bearing  on  the  subject :  — 

"  Already  in  February  of  this  year  we  expressed  our  con- 
viction that  the  cure  of  our  social  maladies  is  not  to  be 
found  in  the  repression  of  the  social  democratic  excesses 
alone,  but  also  in  the  promotion  of  the  welfare  of  the  work- 
ing class.  We  consider  it  our  Imperial  duty  once  more  to 
urge  the  accomplishment  of  this  task  on  the  Diet.  .  .  . 

"In  this  sense  the  united  governments  will  first  re- 
submit to  the  Diet  the  bill  for  insurance  of  workingmen 
against  accidents  with  such  amendments  as  have  been 
suggested  in  the  discussions  on  the  subject  at  your  last 
'  ^'Assurance  Sociale,"  Paris,  1901,  p.  7. 


WORKINGMEN'S   INSURANCE  26 1 

session.  Supplementary  thereto  a  bill  will  be  introduced 
which  has  for  its  object  the  uniform  organization  of  in- 
dustrial insurance  institutions  in  cases  of  sickness.  But 
also  those  who  are  incapacitated  for  work  by  reason  of 
old  age  or  invalidity,  have  a  well-founded  claim  on  the 
community  to  a  higher  degree  of  state  aid  than  has  here- 
tofore been  accorded  them." 

The  first  institution  of  compulsory  state  insurance  of 
workingmen  established  in  Germany  in  pursuance  of  the 
imperial  message,  was  the  insurance  against  sickness 
created  by  the  law  of  1883  and  repeatedly  amended  since. 
Almost  all  industrial  workers  whose  yearly  earnings  do 
not  exceed  2000  marks,  and  certain  classes  of  commercial 
and  agricultural  workers  are  brought  under  the  provisions 
of  this  law.  The  institution  operates  through  the  agency 
of  local  sick  benefit  societies.  The  employers  contribute 
one  third  of  the  insurance  funds  and  pay  the  expense  of 
administration,  the  employees  pay  the  remaining  two 
thirds,  the  contributions  in  each  case  being  proportionate 
to  the  wages  paid  or  earned. 

The  minimum  aid  fixed  by  law  includes  free  medicine 
and  medical  attendance;  a  money  indemnity  equal  to 
three  fourths  of  the  daily  wage,  or  half  of  the  wage  and 
free  hospital  treatment;  in  case  of  death  a  cash  benefit  to 
the  widow  or  family  of  the  deceased  equal  to  twenty  times 
his  daily  wage ;  and  sick  relief  to  working  women  during 
six  weeks  after  confinement. 

The  German  system  of  state  insurance  against  accidents 
was  initiated  by  the  law  of  1884.  That  act  is  a  radical 
advance  over  the  sick  insurance  law  in  that  it  specifically 
recognizes  the  loss  occasioned  by  accidents  in  the  indus- 
trial process  as  a  legitimate  part  of  the  employer's  operating 


262  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

expenses,  and  places  the  entire  burden  of  the  insurance 
against  accidents  on  the  employing  class.  The  affairs  of 
the  institution  are  administered  by  the  joint  representatives 
of  the  employers  and  employees,  and  the  rates  of  insurance 
are  fixed  with  reference  to  the  degree  of  the  danger  of  the 
several  trades,  and  the  efficiency  of  the  safeguards  adopted 
by  each  particular  employer.  One  of  the  most  substantial 
benefits  of  this  system  has  been  the  greater  care  developed 
by  the  employers  of  labor  and  the  general  decrease  of  acci- 
dents to  workingmen. 

The  system  of  accident  insurance  embraces  practically 
all  wage  workers  whose  yearly  earnings  do  not  exceed  3000 
marks.  The  compensation  includes  free  medical  attend- 
ance and  a  fixed  allowance  during  the  period  of  disability. 
In  cases  of  total  disability  the  injured  man  receives  an 
armuity  equal  to  two  thirds  of  his  w^ages,  and  in  cases  of 
death  an  indemnity  is  paid  to  the  surviving  family. 

The  third  measure  of  workingmen's  insurance  mentioned 
in  the  imperial  message,  that  of  insurance  against  old  age 
and  invalidity,  was  not  realized  till  1889.  The  system  dif- 
fers from  the  two  other  forms  of  workingmen's  insurance 
in  that  it  has  been  made  a  more  distinct  function  of  the 
state  as  such.  The  old-age  pension  fund  is  administered 
directly  by  the  government,  and  the  latter  contributes  50 
marks  per  year  for  each  insured  entitled  to  an  annuity. 
The  remaining  funds  are  contributed  in  equal  portions 
by  the  employers  and  employees.  This  form  of  insurance 
is  compulsory  on  every  wage  earner,  sixteen  years  of  age 
and  over,  whose  annual  wages  do  not  exceed  2000  marks. 
The  fund  insures  an  annuity  to  each  workingman  after 
he  has  become  incapacitated  for  work,  or  has  reached  the 
age  of  seventy  years.    The  amount  of  the  pension  is  de- 


WORKINGMEN'S   INSURANCE  263 

termined  with  reference  to  the  average  wages  of  the  in- 
sured, the  minimum  being  115  marks,  and  the  maximum 
about  450  marks  per  year. 

All  the  three  forms  of  workingmen's  insurance  are  oper- 
ated in  conjunction  with  each  other,  and  the  main  object 
of  the  copious  amendatory  legislation  on  the  subject  has 
been  to  combine  them  all  into  a  harmonious  and  com- 
plete system. 

In  comparison  with  the  crude  methods  of  voluntary  in- 
surance, the  compulsory  state  insurance  of  Germany, 
insufficient  as  it  is,  has  proved  a  decided  success. 

In  1904  the  number  of  German  workingmen  insured 
against  sickness  was  11,418,446,  and  relief  in  that  branch 
of  insurance  was  given  in  4,642,679  cases,  involving  a  total 
expenditure  of  about  240,000,000  marks. 

No  less  than  20,000,000  German  workers  were  insured 
against  accidents  in  1906,  and  about  14,000,000  persons 
were  insured  against  invalidity  and  old  age  in  1905. 
The  total  amount  of  accident  indemnity  paid  in  the  year 
mentioned  was  142,436,844  marks,  while  almost  160,000,- 
000  marks  were  paid  out  in  workingmen's  pensions. 
On  January  i,  1906,  934,983  invalid  and  aged  working- 
men  were  drawing  pensions,  and  the  receipts  for  that 
year  and  purpose  exceeded  210,000,000  marks,  of  which 
the  government  had  contributed  about  38,000,000  marks. 

In  all,  the  German  empire  has  spent  in  the  twenty-year 
period,  1885-1905,  the  sum  of  about  5,000,000,000  marks 
on  workingmen's  insurance. 

The  example  of  Germany  has  been  partly  followed  by 
Austria,  which  enacted  laws  for  the  insurance  of  its  work- 
ingmen against  sickness  in  1888,  and  against  accidents  in 
1887.     In  Hungary  the  system  of  compulsory  insurance 


264  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

against  sickness  was  introduced  in  1891.  In  Switzerland 
the  principle  of  compulsory  state  insurance  of  workingmen 
was  adopted  in  the  form  of  an  amendment  to  the  federal 
constitution.  That  amendment  was  adopted  in  1890  on  a 
popular  referendum,  and  read  as  follows:  — 

"The  Confederation  shall  provide,  by  legislative  en- 
actment, for  insurance  against  sickness  and  accidents, 
account  being  taken  of  existing  aid  societies.  It  may 
declare  participation  in  insurance  compulsory  on  all  or  on 
certain  specified  categories  of  citizens." 

When,  however,  a  concrete  legislative  bill  on  compulsory 
sick  insurance  was  submitted  to  the  referendum  of  the 
people,  it  was  rejected  by  a  vote  of  330,000  against  143,000, 
on  account  of  certain  unpopular  provisions,  principally 
with  respect  to  the  proportion  of  the  contributions  of  the 
insured. 

In  Norway  a  system  of  compulsory  state  insurance 
against  accidents  was  inaugurated  in  1894,  in  Finland  in 
1895,  in  Italy  in  1898,  and  in  Holland  and  Sweden  in  1901. 
France  has  had  a  system  of  accident  insurance  since  1898, 
and  has  very  recently  adopted  a  law  providing  for  the 
compulsory  insurance  of  workingmen  against  invalidity 
and  old  age.  Similar  institutions  are  in  force  in  the  colo- 
nies of  New  Zealand,  New  South  Wales  and  Victoria,  In 
Great  Britain  Parliament  has  recently  established  a  gov- 
ernment system  of  old-age  pensions. 

The  main  principles  and  methods  of  operation  of  these 
institutions  in  the  countries  enumerated  are  substantially 
similar  to  those  of  Germany,  but  some  of  them,  notably 
that  of  Austria,  are  more  liberal  in  the  amounts  of  the 
benefits. 

Denmark  has  the  distinction  of  having  the  only  national 


WORKINGMEN'S   INSURANCE  265 

system  which  somewhat  approaches  the  ideal  of  state  in- 
surance against  unemployment.  It  has  recently  adopted 
a  law  regulating  the  methods  of  trade  unions  in  the  manage- 
ment of  funds  for  the  relief  of  their  members  out  of  work, 
and  providing  for  regular  state  contributions  toward  such 
funds.  In  Belgium,  Switzerland  and  France,  several  mu- 
nicipalities have  introduced  similar  measures  for  the  as- 
sistance of  unemployed  workingmen. 

In  Belgium  and  Denmark,  the  subject  of  compulsory 
state  insurance  of  workingmen  in  one  form  or  another  is 
of  late  being  very  strongly  agitated,  and  the  indications 
are  that  these  countries  will  soon  fall  into  line  with  the 
general  progress  of  "social  legislation." 

The  practical  plan  of  workingmen's  insurance  was  first 
formulated  by  the  well-known  Austrian  statesman  and 
sociologist,  Dr.  Schaeffle,  in  1867,^  and  was  elaborated  by 
Professors  Wagner,  SchmoUer  and  the  other  representa- 
tives of  the  school  of  social  science  known  in  Germany  by 
the  general  designation  of  "socialism  of  the  chair"  {Kathe- 
dersozialismus).  But  its  practical  realization  and  the 
steady  extension  of  its  application  is  distinctly  due  to  the 
propaganda  of  modern  socialism.  The  message  of  Em- 
peror Wilhelm  I  quoted  above,  plainly  admits  that  the 
fear  of  the  socialist  movement  was  one  of  the  government's 
motives  in  inaugurating  the  era  of  social  legislation,  and 
Prince  Bismarck,  the  prime  mover  of  the  measure,  was  even 
franker  in  his  public  utterances  on  the  subject,  as  shown  in 
a  previous  chapter  (Socialism  and  Law). 

Factory  legislation  involves  merely  reforms  in  the  rela- 
tions between  the  individual  employers  and  employees,  but 
social  insurance  is  based  on  the  recognition  of  the  duties  of 

'  Adolph  Schaeffle,  "  Kapitalismus  und  Sozialismus." 


266  SOCIALISM   AND    REFORM 

the  state  as  such  towards  its  working-class  citizens,  and  is 
distinctly  a  socialistic  idea.  Factory  legislation,  there- 
fore, may  be  forced  from  the  government  by  a  strong  labor 
movement,  even  if  that  movement  has  not  reached  the 
consciousness  of  socialism ;  but  social  insurance  can  be 
achieved,  directly  or  indirectly,  only  through  the  presence  of 
a  well-defined  and  aggressive  socialist  movement.  Ger- 
many, the  classical  country  of  modern  socialism,  is  also 
the  home  of  social  insurance;  in  the  United  States,  where 
the  trade-union  movement  is  old  and  strong  and  the  socialist 
movement  is  new  and  comparatively  weak,  we  have  a  con- 
siderable number  of  factory  laws,  but  not  even  the  first 
rudiments  of  social  legislation.  England  was  in  this 
respect  similarly  situated  with  the  United  States,  until  its 
workingmen  turned  to  socialism  and  socialist  politics. 
The  English  old-age  pension  system  has  been  among  the 
first  results  of  the  change. 

The  socialists  do  not  overrate  the  value  of  workingmen's 
insurance.  They  do  not  consider  it  as  a  solution  of  the 
social  problem,  nor  even  as  a  measure  of  adequate  relief  of 
the  more  pressing  needs  of  the  working  class.  But  they 
see  in  it  a  potent  lever  for  the  elevation  of  the  physical  and 
moral  standard  of  the  masses. 

The  uncertainty  of  the  workingmen's  life  has  probably  a 
more  deteriorating  effect  on  the  morale  of  their  class  than 
any  other  feature  of  their  existence;  it  tends  to  make 
them  timid  and  conservative  and  inaccessible  to  the 
movement  for  the  elevation  of  their  class  on  a  broad  and 
bold  plane. 

The  effect  of  a  comprehensive  system  of  state  insurance 
is  to  remove  from  the  minds  of  the  workingmen  the  haunt- 
ing dread  born  of  uncertainty,  and  to  develop  in  them  a 


WORKINGMEN'S   INSURANCE  26/ 

certain  sense  of  material  security  and  intellectual  independ- 
ence. 

The  socialists,  moreover,  regard  the  system  of  compul- 
sory state  insurance  as  a  large  step  in  the  direction  of  the 
social  transformation  of  the  modern  individualistic  state. 

"In  a  socialist  society,"  Edouard  Vaillant  predicts, 
"social  insurance  will  in  its  turn  disappear  in  the  higher 
forms  of  the  social  institutions  based  on  equality  and 
solidarity,  as  they  are  to-day  absorbing  and  transforming 
the  old  institutions  of  public  assistance  and  the  partial 
and  incomplete  experiments  of  private  insurance.  Charity, 
public  assistance  and  social  insurance  are  the  three  suc- 
cessive stages  through  which  we  have  to  pass  before  the 
emancipation  of  the  working  class  and  the  social  republic 
will  render  them  useless. 

"  Under  the  capitalist  regime  it  is  only  through  social 
insurance  that  the  dignity  of  the  workingman  and  the  poor 
can  be  safeguarded,  and  his  legal  rights,  his  guaranty 
against  all  social  risks  and  all  misery,  can  be  established 
and  maintained.  And  it  is  because  of  this,  because  the 
time  for  the  complete  realization  of  the  plan  has  arrived, 
that  we  must  concentrate  all  our  efforts  on  its  establish- 
ment." ^ 

And  the  socialists  have  never  relaxed  their   efforts  to 


*  "Assurance  Sociale." 

For  detailed  descriptions  of  the  kinds,  methods  and  results  of  Work- 
iagmen's  Insurance,  consult :  — 

William  Franklin  Willoughby,  "  Workingmen's  Insurance,"  New 
York,  1898. 

John  Graham  Brooks,  "Compulsory  Insurance  in  Germany,"  Special 
Report  of  United  States  Commissioner  of  Labor,  Washington,  1895. 

Dr.  Heinrich  Herkner,  "Die  Arbeiterfrage,"  4th  revised  and  enlarged 
edition,  Berlin,  1905. 


268  SOCIALISM   AND    REFORM 

improve  and  extend  the  existing  system  of  state  insurance. 
In  Germany  and  other  countries  in  which  the  system  has 
been  wholly  or  partly  established,  they  work  for  the  elimina- 
tion of  the  workingmen's  contributions  to  the  insurance 
funds  on  the  theory  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  state  to  insure 
the  life  and  existence  of  the  worker,  without  curtailing  his 
wages  for  that  purpose;  they  demand  the  raising  of  the 
benefits  to  an  extent  sufficient  to  meet  the  actual  needs  of 
the  sick,  disabled  and  aged  workers,  and  they  urge  the 
extension  of  the  system  to  cover  the  entire  wage-earning 

class. 

In  countries  in  which  the  system  of  compulsory  state  in- 
surance for  workingmen  has  not  yet  been  introduced,  the 
socialists  are  its  most  ardent,  often  its  sole  advocates. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE   POLITICAL   REFORM    MOVEMENTS 

Political  Reform 

In  theory  representative  government  is  government 
"of,  for  and  by  the  people,"  and  the  modern  political 
machinery  is  an  instrument  for  the  expression  and  en- 
forcement of  the  popular  will. 

But  in  most  of  the  advanced  modern  countries  the  po- 
litical actualities  accord  but  poorly  with  these  theoretical 
ideals  of  democracy.  As  a  rule  it  is  not  the  great  masses, 
but  the  small  privileged  groups  who  dominate  the  govern- 
ment. A  large  portion  of  the  people  are  openly  excluded 
from  all  direct  participation  in  politics,  and  for  many  of 
those  who  nominally  enjoy  political  rights,  the  exercise  of 
those  rights  is  a  mere  illusion.  The  elected  or  appointed 
public  officials  are  but  rarely  the  disinterested  "servants" 
of  their  constituents.  More  often  they  are  the  rulers  of  the 
nation,  exercising  the  functions  of  office  for  the  promotion 
of  their  own  interests  or  those  of  their  special  class  and  in 
hostility  to  the  people.  The  constituents  have  but  little 
control  over  their  "representatives,"  and  the  general 
tendency  of  modern  political  development  has  been  to 
alienate  the  government  from  the  people, 

Mr.  M.  Ostrogorski,  who  has  probably  made  the  most 
searching  and  exhaustive  investigation  of  political  institu- 
tions and  conditions  in  the  two  greatest  democracies  of  our 

269 


270  SOCIALISM  AND   REFORM 

day,  England  and  the  United  States/  makes  the  alarming 
but  well-substantiated  statement  that  in  both  countries  the 
political  parties,  which  were  originally  devised  for  the  reali- 
zation of  the  will  of  the  voting  masses,  have  turned  into  ef- 
fective instruments  for  the  defeat  of  that  very  will.  Politi- 
cal parties  have  become  political  machines  run  by  political 
"bosses"  on  the  principle  early  announced  by  a  prominent 
American  politician,  "To  the  victors  belong  the  spoils." 
The  "victors,"  within  the  meaning  of  that  maxim  of 
modern  political  ethics,  are  always  the  party  bosses  and 
their  henchmen,  and  the  "spoils"  are  the  public  offices  of 
trust  and  confidence,  the  powers  of  popular  government 
and  all  its  departments. 

The  professional  politicians  in  the  United  States,  in- 
cluding officeholders  and  party  bosses  of  all  grades,  have 
developed  into  a  distinct  class.  Mr.  Ostrogorski  estimates 
their  number  at  about  900,000  —  i.e.,  about  6.5  per  cent 
of  the  voting  population,  and  that  class  practically  controls 
the  politics  of  the  country  and  constitutes  its  government. 
Only  from  one  to  ten  per  cent  of  the  voters  take  part  in  the 
primaries,  and  the  large  bulk  of  the  votes  in  popular 
elections  is  manipulated  by  the  professional  politicians, 
either  by  means  of  the  stultifying  clap-trap  methods  of 
modern  American  campaigning,  or  by  direct  personal 
promises  and  influence,  or  by  the  still  more  direct  method 
of  purchase.  Mr.  Ostrogorski  makes  the  startling  asser- 
tion that  more  than  11  per  cent  of  the  American  voters 
sell  their  votes. 

It  is  this  perversion  of  popular  government  that  has 
given  rise  to  the  many  modern  movements  of  political  re- 

"  M.  Ostrogorski,  "Democracy  and  Political  Parties,"  New  York, 
1905. 


THE   POLITICAL   REFORM   MOVEMENTS  2/1 

form,  and  as  the  vices  of  prevailing  political  conditions  and 
methods  become  more  acute  and  apparent,  these  move- 
ments grow  in  extension  and  intensity. 

The  main  currents  of  all  such  political  reform  movements 
may  be  said  to  proceed  along  three  distinct  lines. 

The  first  of  these  is  directed  against  the  personal  in- 
competence or  corruption  of  individual  officeholders  or 
politicians.  This  is  the  so-called  "good  government" 
movement,  which  sees  the  remedy  for  all  political  evils  in 
"putting  good  men  into  office."  The  movement  by  its 
very  nature  is  bound  to  be  sporadic  and  ineffective.  It  is 
most  common  in  the  large  American  cities,  which  are  the 
chronic  prey  of  organized  gangs  of  unscrupulous  politi- 
cians. When  these  political  marauders,  intoxicated  with 
power,  become  too  shameless  and  aggressive,  the  decent 
citizens,  mostly  of  the  "better  classes,"  periodically  rise 
in  revolt,  and  inaugurate  a  "good  government"  campaign. 
If  successful,  they  oust  the  corrupt  officials,  and  elect  men 
of  their  own  ranks  in  their  stead.  As  a  rule  they  do  not 
attempt  any  radical  changes  of  the  conditions  which  breed 
and  maintain  corrupt  political  gangs  in  the  cities,  and 
as  a  result  their  reform  regimes  are  short  lived,  and  soon 
succumb  to  a  new  and  more  appalling  state  of  political 
corruption.  The  recent  histories  of  New  York,  Chicago, 
Pittsburg,  Philadelphia,  Minneapolis  and  St.  Louis  offer 
abundant  instances  of  such  movements,  and  the  pathetic 
struggles  and  failures  of  the  shortsighted  good  government 
reforms  of  these  cities  have  been  graphically  described  by 
Mr.  Lincoln  Steffens.^ 

The  more  important  movements  of  political  reform  are 
those  concerned  in  the  permanent  improvements  of  politi- 

*  "The  Shame  of  the  Cities,"  New  York,  1904. 


2/2  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

cal  institutions  and  methods.  These  movements  have  for 
their  object  the  extension  of  the  suffrage  to  classes  still 
excluded  from  it,  or  they  aim  to  increase  the  political 
powers  of  the  people  and  to  strengthen  their  control  over 
their  chosen  representatives.  To  the  former  class  belong 
the  movements  for  the  abolition  of  all  forms  of  restrictions 
on  adult  manhood  suffrage,  and  for  the  introduction  of 
woman  suffrage;  to  the  latter,  the  movements  for  the 
direct  election  of  all  public  officials,  for  the  introduction 
of  the  principle  of  initiative  and  referendum  in  legislation, 
the  system  of  proportional  representation  in  government, 
and  the  right  of  the  constituents  to  recall  their  represent- 
atives. 

All  these  movements  have  of  late  made  very  consider- 
able gains. 

Universal  Suffrage 

The  general  principle  of  universal  suffrage  of  all  adult 
male  citizens  has  been  pretty  definitely  established  in 
several  countries,  such  as  the  United  States,  England, 
France  and  Switzerland,  for  all  political  elections;  in  other 
countries,  such  as  Germany  and  Austria,  it  is  limited  to 
parliamentary  elections,  while  in  the  local  elections  in 
these  countries,  and  in  all  elections  in  some  other  countries, 
such  as  Belgium  and  Holland,  the  suffrage  is  qualified  by 
the  age,  property,  education  or  social  condition  of  the  voter. 
The  domain  of  universal  manhood  suffrage  is  steadily 
extending,  and  the  struggles  for  the  removal  of  all  qualifica- 
tions on  such  suffrage  are  assuming  ever  larger  proportions, 
especially  in  Belgium,  Holland,  Germany  and  Hungary. 

As  part  of  the  general  movement  for  suffrage  exten- 


THE   POLITICAL   REFORM    MOVEMENTS  2/3 

sion,  the  movement  for  the  enfranchisement  of  women  has 
also  made  large  strides  within  the  last  generation.  Not 
only  has  that  movement  to-day  numerous  and  energetic 
adherents  of  both  sexes  all  over  the  civilized  world,  but  in 
many  countries  it  has  already  realized  complete  or  partial 
practical  victories.  The  women  of  Finland  enjoy  the 
"active"  and  the  "passive"  franchise  (the  right  to  vote 
and  to  hold  elective  office)  in  all  elections  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  men,  and  out  of  the  200  deputies  in 
the  Finnish  Diet,  19  are  women.  In  Norway  the  tax- 
paying  or  propertied  women  have  votes  in  all  parliamen- 
tary and  local  elections.  Women  are  completely  enfran- 
chised in  New  Zealand  and  in  the  Australian  colonies  of 
South  and  West  Australia,  New  South  Wales,  Tasmania  and 
Queensland.  In  the  little  Isle  of  Man,  which  has  its  own 
local  parliament,  women  are  likewise  allowed  to  vote  on 
equal  terms  with  men.  In  the  other  parts  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland  woman  suffrage  is  restricted  to  certain  elec- 
tions for  local  offices.  The  Frenchmen  have  conferred  on 
their  women  the  right  to  vote  in  elections  for  school  trus- 
tees, charity  inspectors  and  members  of  the  industrial 
courts.  In  Germany,  Sweden,  Denmark  and  Switzerland 
women  are  permitted  to  vote  in  certain  local  elections. 

In  the  United  States  four  states,  Wyoming,  Colorado, 
Utah  and  Idaho,  have  extended  to  their  female  citizens  the 
rights  of  unrestricted  suffrage,  while  most  of  the  other 
states  allow  their  women  to  participate  in  the  elections  of 
local  school  boards  and  other  minor  officials. 

Wyoming  has  had  the  longest  experience  with  the  insti- 
tution of  woman  suffrage,  which  was  introduced  in  that 
state  in  1868.  In  1893  its  legislature  attested  its  appre- 
ciation of  the  beneficial  and  ennobling  effect  of  the  institu- 


274  SOCIALISM   AND    REFOkM 

tion  on  the  public  life  of  the  citizens  of  the  state,  in  a  con- 
current resolution,  which  among  other  things  recited: 
"That  the  possession  and  exercise  of  suffrage  by  the 
women  in  Wyoming  for  the  past  quarter  of  a  century  has 
wrought  no  harm  and  has  done  great  good  in  many  ways; 
that  it  has  largely  aided  in  banishing  crime,  pauperism 
and  vice  from  the  state,  and  that  without  any  violent  and 
oppressive  legislation;  that  it  has  secured  peaceful  and 
orderly  elections,  good  government  and  a  remarkable 
degree  of  civilization  and  good  order." 

Of  the  remaining  electoral  reform  movements,  the  first 
in  order  of  importance  is  probably  that  advocating  the 
system  of 

Proportional  Representation 

I  Under  the  prevailing  systems  of  election,  the  majority 
(party  may  sometimes  monopolize  all  public  offices  while 
tthe  minority  parties  may  have  no  representation  at  all. 
Theoretically  we  may  conceive  of  a  situation  where  a 
party  representing  a  bare  majority  of  the  voters,  say 
51  per  cent,  evenly  distributed  all  over  the  country,  may 
carry  every  election  and  fill  every  seat  in  the  state  and 
national  legislatures  and  all  other  public  offices  of  the  coun- 
try, while  the  remaining  49  per  cent  may  have  no  represen- 
tation and  no  voice  in  the  administration  at  all.  But 
/this  applies  only  to  countries  in  which  an  absolute  ma- 
jority of  the  votes  cast  is  required  for  election.  In  countries 
in  which  a  mere  plurality  determines  the  elections,  as  in 
\he  United  States,  we  may  well  conceive  a  situation  where 
the  voters  are  divided  into  three  or  more  parties  of  ap- 
proximately equal  strength,  and  the  strongest  pf  them, 


THE  POLITICAL   REFORM    MOVEMENTS 


275 


representing  perhaps  35  per  cent  of  all  voters,  may  control 
the  entire  government.  In  actual  practice,  of  course, 
the  party  voters  are  never  so  evenly  distributed,  and  a 
strong  minority  party  as  a  rule  has  some  representation 
in  the  government.  But  this  representation  is  uncertain, 
and  the  smaller  parties  are  often  left  without  any  repre- 
sentation. In  the  general  national  elections  in  the  United 
States  in  1908,  the  total  number  of  votes  cast  for  all 
parties  was  14,882,132.  Of  these  the  Republican  Party 
received  7,677,544,  the  Democratic  Party,  6,405,707,  the 
Socialist  Party,  420,464,  the  Prohibition  Party,  251,660, 
the  Independence  Party,  83,628,  the  People's  Party, 
29,108,  and  the  Socialist  Labor  Party,  14,021. 

In  the  same  elections  391  members  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  were  chosen.  Under  a  system  of  pro- 
portional representation  these  members  would  have  been 
apportioned  among  the  various  parties  as  follows :  — 


Republicans 

202 

Democrats 

.     168 

Socialists 

II 

Prohibitionists 

•        7 

Independence  Party 

2 

People's  Party 

I 

391 

As  a  matter  of  fact  the  House  was  composed  of  219 
Republicans  and  172  Democrats,  and  none  of  the  minor 
parties  had  any  representation  whatever  on  it. 

There  are  several  methods  by  which  the  principle  of  pro- 
portional representation  may  be  applied  to  elections.  The 
one  known  as  the  "free  list"  or  "quota  plan"  is  the 
simplest   and   most   commonly   employed.     This   system 


276 


SOCIALISM   AND    REFORM 


presupposes  large  electoral  districts  and  party  nominations. 
To  illustrate  its  practical  working  let  us  take  the  case  of  a 
city  with  100,000  voters  entitled  to  elect  ten  members  of 
Congress  or  other  legislative  body.  Every  ten  thousand 
voters  of  any  political  faith  will  thus  be  entitled  to  one 
representative,  and  no  political  party  polling  at  least  that 
number  of  votes  will  be  entirely  excluded  from  representa- 
tion. Let  us  assume  that  there  are  four  parties  in  the  field. 
Each  of  the  parties  may  nominate  ten  candidates,  but  it 
will  serve  the  purpose  if  they  nominate  one  or  two  more 
than  they  expect  to  elect.  The  electoral  ticket  and  the 
votes  cast  for  the  different  parties  will  be  as  follows :  — 


Republican 
Party 

Democratic 
Party 

Socialist 
Party 

Prohibition 
Party 

A 

H 

M 

P 

B 

I 

N 

Q 

C 

J 

0 

D 

K 

E 

L 

F 

G 

Votes 

37,500 

29,900 

21,100 

11,500 

Representatives  .     . 

4 

3 

2 

I 

This  illustration  presupposes  a  straight  party  vote,  and 
in  that  case  candidates  will  be  declared  elected  in  the  order 
of  their  positions  on  the  ballot,  the  positions  having  been 
fixed  by  the  respective  parties.  This  is  known  as  the 
"  block-vote."  But  the  plan  of  proportional  representation 
does  not  preclude  the  voter  from  expressing  his  preference 
for  specific  candidates  of  his  party.  The  voter  may  be  al- 
lowed to  vote  for  the  individual  candidates  of  his  choice, 


THE   POLITICAL   REFORM   MOVEMENTS  277 

and  his  vote  will  count  both  for  the  candidate  and  the  party, 
and  he  may  be  even  allowed  to  vote  on  the  cumulative  sys- 
tem, i.e.,  cast  all  of  his  ten  votes  for  one  candidate  or  distrib- 
ute them  among  several  candidates  in  such  proportions  as 
he  may  choose.  Where  votes  are  counted  for  the  candi- 
date as  well  as  for  the  party,  each  party  will  receive  the 
representation  to  which  the  total  number  of  votes  cast  for 
its  ticket  entitles  it,  and  the  candidates  receiving  the  high- 
est individual  votes  on  the  ticket  will  be  declared  elected. 

The  system  of  proportional  representation  has  been 
introduced  in  the  parliamentary  elections  of  Sweden,  Fin- 
land and  Japan ;  it  is  being  strongly  urged  in  several  other 
countries  for  national  elections,  and  is  frequently  applied 
in  local  elections.  Belgium  has  the  curious  system  of 
proportional  representation  based  on  the  "single  vote 
plan"  and  combined  with  plural  voting.  The  system  is 
the  same  as  shown  in  our  illustration,  except  that  every 
voter  casts  one  vote  which  counts  for  the  candidate  des- 
ignated by  him  on  the  ballot  and  for  his  party,  and 
except  also  that  persons  of  property  or  college  education 
have  the  privilege  of  voting  three  separate  ballots  instead 
of  the  one  ballot  allowed  to  the  other  citizens. 

The   Referendum,   Initiative   and   Right  of  Recall 

If  proportional  representation  is  designed  to  give  to 
each  poHtical  group  of  citizens  a  representation  in  govern- 
ment in  accordance  with  its  numbers,  the  Referendum 
seeks  to  maintain  the  representatives  under  the  constant 
control  of  their  electors.  By  the  "Referendum"  is  meant 
the  right  to  compel  the  legislature  to  submit  to  the  vote 
of  the  entire  people  any  law,  ordinance  or  other  question 


278  SOCIALISM  AND   REFORM 

to  be  adopted,  ratified  or  rejected  at  the  polls.  Where 
the  referendum  is  in  vogue,  it  is  usually  set  in  motion  by 
the  petition  of  a  certain  number  of  voters,  ordinarily  from 
five  to  ten  per  cent.  If  such  petition  is  presented  to  the 
legislature  within  a  specified  time  after  the  passage  of  a 
certain  act  or  measure,  say  within  two  or  three  months,  the 
act  or  measure  in  question  is  submitted  to  a  popular  vote, 
and  the  decision  of  the  voters  seals  its  fate.  The  Referen- 
dum was  introduced  in  Switzerland  in  the  early  part  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  it  was  largely  extended  by  the  constitu- 
tion of  1874,  and  has  since  become  an  established  feature 
in  that  progressive  little  republic.  It  has  also  been  adopted 
in  four  states  of  the  Union,  and  it  is  the  uniform  method  of 
amending  state  constitutions  in  ail  states  but  one.  It  is 
also  often  resorted  to  in  the  local  politics  of  many  cities  in 
America,  Europe  and  Australia. 

The  benefits  of  the  Referendum  as  practiced  in  Switzer- 
land are  stated  by  Mr.  John  A.  Hobson  in  this  lan- 
guage:— 

"  I.  It  provides  a  remedy  for  intentional  or  uninten- 
tional misrepresentation  on  the  part  of  elected  legislatures 
and  secures  laws  conformable  to  the  actual  will  of  the 
majority. 

"2.  It  enhances  the  popular  confidence  in  the  stability 
of  law. 

"3.  It  eliminates  much  waste  of  political  energy  by 
enabling  proposals  of  unknown  value  to  be  submitted 
separately  to  a  quantitative  test." 

Yet  the  greatest  service  of  all  is  the  training  in  the  art 
of  self-government  which  the  referendum  gives.  Says  Mr. 
Hobson:  — 

"It  may  indeed  be  questioned  whether  a  people  whose 


THE   POLITICAL   REFORM    MOVEMENTS  279 

direct  contribution  to  self-government  consists  in  a  single 
vote  cast  at  intervals  of  several  years,  not  for  a  policy  or 
even  for  a  measure,  but  for  a  party  or  a  personality,  can 
be  or  is  capable  of  becoming  a  genuinely  self-governing 
people.  Some  amount  of  regular  responsibility  for  con- 
crete acts  of  conduct  is  surely  as  essential  to  the  education 
of  a  self-reliant  people  as  of  a  self-reliant  individual."  ^ 

And  Mr.  Curti,  for  many  years  a  member  of  the  Swiss 
Parliament,  sums  up  his  own  experience  as  follows :  — 

"I  am  certain  that  the  Referendum  has  prevented  but 
little  of  the  good  we  might  have  done,  but  it  has  averted 
many  evils  if  only  by  the  fact  that  it  always  stood  wamingly 
before  us.  I  should  say  that  it  does  not  condemn  democ- 
racy to  a  standstill,  despite  its  occasional  retrogressive 
movements,  but  that  it  lends  steadiness  to  progress  itself."  ^ 

The  Referendum,  beneficial  as  its  operations  may  be, 
is  not  effective  to  secure  the  dominion  of  the  popular  will 
over  the  representative  legislatures  without  the  aid  of 
another  modern  political  weapon  —  the  Popular  Initia- 
tive. 

The  Initiative  is  "the  right  of  a  certain  percentage  of 
the  voters,  usually  five  to  ten  per  cent,  to  propose  a  law, 
ordinance  or  constitutional  amendment  for  action  by  the 
legislature  or  decision  at  the  polls  or  both."  ^  If  the 
proposed  measure  is  acted  upon  favorably  by  the  legisla- 
ture, that  disposes  of  it,  but  if  the  legislature  fails  to  enact 
it,  it  must  be  submitted  to  a  popular  vote  for  adoption  or 
rejection. 

*  Quoted  from  Equity,  Philadelphia,  for  January,  1908. 

^  Theodor  Curti,  "Die  Resultate  des  Schweizerischen  Referendums," 
Stuttgart,  1898,  p.  48. 

^  "A  Primer  of  Direct  Legislation,"  The  Arena,  Trenton,  New 
Jersey,  1906,  p.  8. 


280  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

The  Referendum  alone  is  merely  designed  to  prevent 
mischievous  legislation,  for  its  workings  are  negative;  the 
Initiative  enables  the  people  to  force  positive  legislation. 
The  Referendum  and  Initiative  complement  each  other, 
and  in  a  majority  of  cases  they  have  been  adopted  together 
and  as  parts  of  the  same  political  system. 

The  Right  of  Recall  is  the  right  of  the  constituents  of 
any  public  official  to  withdraw  him  from  office  before  the 
expiration  of  his  elective  or  appointive  term.  This  right 
is  based  on  the  theory  that  in  a  democracy  every  public 
official  is  the  agent  of  -the  people,  and  may  be  discharged 
by.  the  latter  at  any  time  and  for  any  reason. 
t^  The  Right  of  Recall  is  usually  exercised  by  a  petition 
foHhe  removal  of  the  objectionable  representative  or  offi- 
cial, signed  by  a  large  number  of  voters  within  the  district 
from  which  he  has  been  elected.  Upon  such  petition  new 
elections  are  ordered,  and  the  name  of  the  objectionable 
incumbent  is  submitted  to  the  voters  together  with  the 
names  of  any  new  candidates,  so  as  to  give  to  the  voters 
the  opportunity  to  retain  him  in  office  or  to  recall  him. 

The  system  has  been  introduced  in  Switzerland,  in 
several  municipalities  of  the  state  of  California,  and  re- 
cently in  the  city  of  Seattle,  Washington.  It  is  not  as 
popular  as  the  Referendum  and  the  Initiative,  and  the 
adoption  of  the  latter  often  tends  to  make  the  measure 
superfluous,  at  least  so  far  as  regards  legislative  repre- 
sentatives. 

The  socialists  advocate  all  political  reforms  which  have 
for  their  object  the  democratization  of  the  modern  state, 
and  that  not  only  on  account  of  their  general  desire  for 
political  progress,  but  also  for  the  special  reason  that  such 
reforms  are  indispensable  for  the  progress  and  success  of 


THE  POLITICAL   REFORM   MOVEMENTS  28 1 

the  socialist  movement.  All  restrictions  on  popular  suf-j 
frage  are  primarily  designed  to  disfranchise  the  property- 
less  working  class,  the  main  source  of  the  political  strength 
of  sociahsm,  and  all  methods  of  disproportionate  repre- 
sentation work  most  disastrously  on  minority  parties  and 
new  political  movements. 

The  social  democrats  of  Germany  under  Lassalle's 
leadership  entered  the  poHtical  arena  with  the  motto  of  un- 
restricted suffrage  for  all  adult  citizens,  and  that  motto  has 
remained  the  battle  cry  of  militant  socialism  in  all  coun- 
tries of  restricted  suffrage.  In  Austria,  Russia,  Belgium 
and  Sweden,  the  socialists  have  been  the  leading  spirits 
of  all  movements  for  suffrage  extension,  and  in  other  coun- 
tries they  have  often  been  its  sole  champions. 

Socialism  and  Woman  Suffrage 

A  similarly  unmistakable  stand  have  the  socialists 
always  maintained  on  the  subject  of  woman  suffrage. 
"As  soon  as  the  Socialist  Party  was  born,"  attests  Mrs. 
Zetkin,  "it  adopted  the  demand  of  equal  rights  for  man  and 
woman  in  its  political  program.  The  social  democracy 
is  the  organization  of  woman  suffrage  par  excellence  in 
Germany.  In  the  many  thousands  of  meetings  in  which 
the  party  year  after  year  proclaims  its  theories  and  explains 
its  program,  the  justice  of  woman  suffrage  is  always  em- 
phasized. The  proletarian  movement  of  women  especially 
has  repeatedly  unfolded  all  over  the  empire  an  exclusive 
propaganda  in  favor  of  the  fullest  and  highest  political 
rights  of  the  female  sex.  Bebel,  von  Vollmar  and  other 
socialist  representatives  have  time  and  time  again  made 
earnest  pleas  for  woman  suffrage  in  the  General  German 


282  SOCIALISM   AND    REFORM 

Diet  and  in  the  different  provincial  diets.  And  the  social 
democracy  has  not  satisfied  itself  with  mere  talk  in  favor 
of  woman  suffrage.  It  has  repeatedly  proposed  positive 
legislation  on  that  subject.  As  the  first  and,  up  to  the 
present,  the  only  political  party  of  Germany,  the  Social 
Democrats  already  in  1895  offered  a  resolution  in  the  Im- 
perial Diet  which  declared  that  all  elections  to  Parliament 
and  to  the  provincial  diets  should  be  based  on  the  universal, 
equal,  direct  and  secret  vote  of  all  adult  citizens,  without 
distinction  of  sex."  ^ 

For  the  socialist  movement  the  demand  for  woman 
suffrage  is  not  a  mere  sentimental  proposition  of  abstract 
justice.  The  working  woman  has  become  so  large  and 
important  a  factor  in  modern  industrial  life  that  the  work- 
ingman  can  hardly  carry  on  his  economic  and  political 
struggles  without  her  cooperation.  For  the  upper  and 
middle  class  woman  suffrage  is  a  convenience  and  an 
advantage;  for  the  woman  of  the  working  class  it  is  an 
immediate  material  necessity. 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  breach  between  the  bour- 
geois ''suffragists"  and  the  working  women  advocates  of 
suffrage  is  constantly  deepening.  The  suffragists  of  the 
upper  and  middle  classes  favor  woman  suffrage  qualified 
by  a  property  test  because  such  test  would  not  exclude  them 
from  voting,  and  also  because  they  regard  such  limited 
suffrage  as  a  partial  victory  for  the  general  principle  of 
woman  suffrage. 

The  proletarian  suffragettes,  on  the  other  hand,  see  in 
such  qualified  woman  suffrage  only  a  means  of  strengthen- 
ing the  political  power  of  the  possessing  classes,  thus  cor- 

'■  Clara  Zetkin,  "Zur  Frage  des  Frauenwahlrechts,"  Berlin,  1907, 
p.  19. 


THE   POLITICAL   REFORM   MOVEMENTS  283 

respondingly  diminishing  the  political  strength  of  the 
propertyless  working  class. 

The  question  of  woman  suffrage  was  thoroughly  ex- 
amined by  the  last  International  Socialist  Congress  held 
at  Stuttgart  in  1907,  and  the  resolution  adopted  on  the 
subject  thus  defines  the  socialist  attitude  towards  the  gen- 
eral movement  for  woman  suffrage :  — 

"It  is  the  duty  of  socialist  parties  of  all  countries  to 
agitate  most  energetically  for  the  introduction  of  universal 
womanhood  suffrage.  The  socialist  parties  repudiate 
limited  woman's  suffrage  as  an  adulteration  of,  and  a 
caricature  upon,  the  principle  of  political  equality  of  the 
female  sex.  It  fights  for  the  sole  living  concrete  expression 
of  this  principle ;  namely,  universal  womanhood  suffrage, 
which  should  belong  to  all  women  of  age  and  not  be  con- 
ditioned by  property,  taxation,  education,  or  any  other 
qualification  which  would  exclude  members  of  the  laboring 
classes  from  the  enjoyment  of  this  right.  The  socialist 
women  should  not  carry  on  this  struggle  for  complete  equal- 
ity of  right  of  vote  in  alliance  with  the  middle-class  women 
suffragists,  but  in  common  with  the  socialist  parties,  which 
insist  upon  woman  suffrage  as  one  of  the  fundamental 
and  most  important  reforms  for  the  full  democratization 
of  political  franchise  in  general." 


CHAPTER   V 

ADMINISTRATIVE   REFORMS 

In  the  last  chapter  we  dealt  with  such  reforms  as  affect 
primarily  the  character  of  government.  Here  we  will  con- 
sider some  reforms  bearing  on  the  functions  of  government 
and  the  manner  of  their  discharge,  and  for  lack  of  a  more 
expressive  term,  we  will  designate  these  by  the  common 
title  of  "  administrative  reforms." 

Under  this  head  we  will  examine  three  significant  move- 
ments of  recent  times:  the  movements  for  government 
ownership  of  certain  industries,  for  the  shifting  of  the 
burden  of  taxation  on  the  possessing  classes,  and  for  the 
abolition  of  standing  armies.  The  three  movements  are 
but  loosely  related  among  themselves,  and  the  socialist 
attitude  to  them  is  different  in  each  case. 

Government  Ownership 

The  movement  for  the  transfer  of  ownership  in  certain 
industries  of  a  public  or  quasi-public  nature,  such  as  rail- 
roads, telegraphs,  telephones,  street  cars,  waterworks  and 
gas  works,  to  the  central  government  or  to  municipal 
governments,  has  made  very  substantial  progress  within 
the  last  few  decades,  and  its  ideas  have  found  very  extended 
application.  Switzerland,  Belgium  and  the  Australian 
colonies,  Prussia  and  Russia  own  the  greater  part  of  the 
railroads  of  those  countries;    in  Saxony  all   railroading 

284 


ADMINISTRATIVE   REFORMS  285 

is  government  monopoly,  and  in  Austria,  Holland  and 
Norway  the  governments  are  gradually  and  steadily  absorb- 
ing the  private  lines.  All  of  these  countries  began  with 
private  ownership  of  the  roads,  and  gradually  transferred 
such  ownership  to  the  government. 

Still  more  marked  is  that  process  in  the  case  of  the  tele- 
graph. "With  the  exception  of  the  sale  of  the  experimen- 
tal line  from  Washington  to  Baltimore,"  says  Professor 
Parsons,  "no  country  has  changed  from  public  to  private 
ownership,  but  every  country  in  the  world  that  began  with 
private  telegraphs  has  changed  to  public  ownership,  except 
Bolivia,  Canada,  Cuba,  Cyprus,  Hawaii,  Honduras  and 
the  United  States."  * 

Germany,  Bulgaria  and  some  of  the  Australian  colonies 
introduced  their  first  telephones  as  government  monopolies, 
and  have  retained  them  as  such,  while  Great  Britain, 
Belgium,  Austria,  France,  Switzerland,  Sweden  and 
Norway  have  acquired  all  or  portions  of  the  telephone 
systems  of  their  country  from  the  original  private  owners. 

The  field  of  municipal  ownership  is  even  more  ex- 
tensive than  that  of  national  ownership.  Municipal 
ownership  of  water  and  gas  works  is  practically  the  rule 
in  most  countries  of  Europe,  and  in  the  United  States  more 
than  half  of  the  cities  and  towns  own  their  own  water- 
works, and  several  cities  have  acquired  their  gas  works. 

Municipal  street  railways  have  received  the  largest 
extension  in  Great  Britain,  where  the  municipalities  own 
and  operate  more  than  40  per  cent  of  the  total  mileage. 
The  movement  for  the  transfer  of  all  privately  owned  street 
cars  to  the  municipal  governments  has  of  late  met  with 

'  Frank  Parsons,  "The  City  for  the  People,"  Equity  Series,  Phila- 
delphia, 1901,  p.  207. 


286  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

more  or  less  substantial  success  in  all  modern  countries 
except  the  United  States. 

From  the  fact  that  socialism  advocates  the  public  owner- 
ship of  all  means  of  production,  and  that  its  political  pro- 
gram demands  the  national  ownership  of  railways  and 
telegraphs,  and  the  municipal  ownership  of  street  cars 
and  gas  and  water  works,  the  inference  is  often  drawn  that 
the  growth  of  government  ownership  as  here  described  is  a 
direct  or  indirect  achievement  of  the  socialist  movement. 
This  notion  is  as  erroneous  as  it  is  widespread  and  popu- 
lar. The  socialists  do  not  claim  any  credit  for  the  pres- 
ent-day institutions  of  government  ownership,  nor  have 
they  any  illusions  as  to  their  significance  and  benefits. 
Government  ownership  under  the  present  regime  does  not 
represent  an  advanced  phase  of  industrial  development 
or  the  climax  of  industrial  concentration.  It  is  in  no  sense 
an  installment  of  the  socialist  cooperative  republic. 

National  ownership  of  railroads,  telegraphs  and  tele- 
phones has  been  in  most  cases  introduced  by  the  govern- 
ments for  reasons  of  military  expediency  or  for  the  sake 
of  revenue.  In  other  cases  it  was  brought  about  as  a  con- 
cession to  the  interests  of  the  middle  classes. 

Similarly,  municipal  ownership,  where  not  brought 
about  by  a  socialist  administration,  is  as  a  rule  but  a  de- 
vice for  municipal  revenue.  Government  ownership,  both 
national  and  municipal,  has  some  very  decided  advantages 
over  private  ownership,  and  on  the  whole,  it  assures  better 
service  to  the  public  and  better  treatment  of  the  employees. 
But  these  advantages  are  to  a  large  extent  offset  by  the 
fact  that  government  ownership  tends  to  strengthen  the 
powers  of  the  modern  class  state,  and  to  curtail  the  freedom 
of  combination  and  coalition  on  the  part  of  the  employees. 


ADMINISTRATIVE   REFORMS  28/ 

What  the  socialists  demand  is  not  government  owner- 
ship, but  public  ownership,  and  the  distinction  is  very 
material  under  present  conditions,  as  pointed  out  by 
Professor  Parsons,  who  says :  — 

^^  Public  ownership  and  government  ownership  are  by 
no  means  synonymous.  Where  legislative  power  is  per- 
verted to  private  purposes  —  where  the  spoils  system 
prevails  and  the  oflfices  are  treated  as  private  property  — 
where  government  is  managed  in  the  interests  of  a  few 
individuals  or  of  a  class,  anything  that  is  in  the  control  of 
the  government  is  really  private  property,  although  it 
may  be  called  public  property.  If  councils  and  legisla- 
tures are  masters  instead  of  the  people,  they  are  likely  to 
use  the  streets  and  franchises  for  private  gain  instead  of  the 
public  good.  If  the  government  is  a  private  monopoly, 
everything  in  the  hands  of  the  government  is  a  private 
monopoly."  * 

In  fact,  the  movement  for  the  national  or  municipal 
ownership  of  public  utilities  is  the  most  striking  illustra- 
tion of  a  reform  movement  which  may  be  revolutionary 
or  retrogressive  according  to  the  source  from  which  it 
emanates. 

The  socialists  of  all  countries  favor  the  municipaliza- 
tion or  nationalization  of  public  utilities,  but  that  only  as 
a  measure  to  be  carried  out  by  an  administration  controlled 
or  at  least  strongly  influenced  by  the  working  class. 
Their  demand  for  municipal  or  national  ownership  of  the 
industries  mentioned  is  coupled  with  the  further  demand 
for  the  democratic  administration  of  those  industries,  and 
for  their  management  in  the  interests  of  the  employees 
and  the  public.     On  the  other  hand,  the  most  reactionary 

'  "The  City  for  the  People,"  p.  17. 


288  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

capitalist  governments  may  utilize  it  for  the  purpose  of 
strengthening  their  grip  on  the  people,  and  the  middle-class 
apostles  of  municipal  or  national  ownership  of  the  type 
of  Hearst  or  Bryan  in  the  United  States  or  the  "radical" 
bourgeois  parties  of  Europe,  see  in  it  primarily  a  means  of 
decreasing  the  taxes  of  property  owners  and  reducing  the 
rates  of  freight,  transportation  and  communication  for 
the  smaller  business  men. 

In  Germany,  where  the  socialists  have  had  ample  oppor- 
tunity to  watch  the  practical  workings  of  government 
ownership,  they  passed  judgment  on  the  institution  in  the 
following  terse  resolution  adopted  at  their  annual  con- 
vention of  1892:  — 

"  State  socialism,  so-called,  inasmuch  as  it  aims  at  state 
ownership  for  fiscal  purposes,  seeks  to  substitute  the  state 
for  the  private  capitalist,  and  to  confer  on  it  the  power  to 
subject  the  people  to  the  double  yoke  of  economic  exploi- 
tation and  political  slavery." 

Tax  Reforms 

The  support  of  the  modern  state  in  all  its  branches,  civil 
and  military,  involves  the  expenditure  of  immense  funds, 
and  the  problem  of  raising  these  funds  has  ever  been  the 
hardest  bone  of  contention  between  the  governments  and 
the  governed.  All  moneys  for  the  support  of  the  govern- 
ment necessarily  come  from  the  people  in  the  form  of  taxes, 
and  the  distribution  of  the  burden  of  taxation  among  the 
various  classes  of  the  population  always  depends  on  the 
methods  employed  in  its  levying. 

The  two  main  contending  methods  of  taxation  are  the 
direct  and  the  indirect.     A  direct  tax  is  a  tax  imposed  on 


ADMINISTRATIVE   REFORMS  289 

the  very  person  of  the  citizen  who  is  expected  to  pay  it, 
and  one  that  cannot  be  shifted  by  him;  an  indirect  tax 
is  a  tax  on  real  estate  or  commodities,  formally  imposed  on 
the  owner,  manufacturer  or  merchant,  but  actually  borne 
by  the  tenant  or  consumer.  Instances  of  the  first  class 
are  the  poll  tax,  the  income  tax  and  the  inheritance  tax; 
instances  of  the  latter  class  are  the  real  property  tax,  the 
import  duties  on  raw  material  or  manufactured  goods  of 
foreign  importation,  and  the  excise  duties  on  articles  of 
domestic  manufacture,  such  as  tobacco,  liquors,  etc. 

The  ruling  classes  and  the  modern  state  as  a  rule  favor 
the  indirect  tax,  while  the  socialists  have  always  been 
strongly  opposed  to  it. 

"The  indirect  tax  is  the  instrument  through  which  the 
bourgeoisie  brings  about  the  complete  exemption  from 
taxation  of  capital,  and  burdens  the  poorer  classes  of 
society  with  all  the  expenses  of  the  state  government," 
asserted  Ferdinand  Lassalle  in  his  famous  "Workingmen's 
Program"  in  1862,  and  this  conception  is  still  the  generally 
accepted  socialist  view  on  the  subject.  The  socialists  have 
always  consistently  advocated  the  system  of  direct  taxa- 
tion, and  among  the  most  universal  planks  of  their  practical 
political  programs  are  the  demands  for  a  progressive  in- 
come tax  and  a  progressive  inheritance  tax. 

A  progressive  income  tax  is  a  direct  tax  levied  upon  the 
excess  income  of  each  citizen  above  a  certain  minimum, 
and  progressively  graded  according  to  the  size  of  the  in- 
come. The  tax  has  the  merit  of  placing  the  onus  of  main- 
taining the  government  upon  the  classes  who  derive  the 
greatest  benefits  from  it  and  who  can  bear  the  burden  with 
the  greatest  ease. 

In  England  the  progressive  income  tax  was  first  intro- 


290  SOCIALISM   AND    REFORM 

duced  in  the  period  of  tlie  Napoleonic  wars  as  a  temporary 
makeshift,  but  the  system  has  since  established  itself  in 
the  country  firmly,  and  the  revenue  from  that  source  was 
almost  ;;r36,ooo,ooo  in  1902.  From  England  the  progres- 
sive income  tax  has  spread  to  Italy,  Switzerland,  Germany, 
Austria,  Hungary,  Denmark,  Holland  and  Australia. 
France  at  present  taxes  only  the  incomes  of  corporations 
and  business  associations,  but  a  general  and  rather  high 
income  tax  is  now  proposed  by  the  government.  In  the 
United  States  a  progressive  income  tax  was  in  force,  and 
yielded  excellent  results  during  the  closing  years  of  the 
Civil  War,  and  until  1872,  when  it  was  repealed.  In  1894, 
a  new  income  tax  law  was  passed  by  Congress,  but  the 
law  was  declared  unconstitutional  and  void  by  the  Supreme 
Court,  the  far-reaching  decision  having  been  rendered  by 
a  vote  of  5  to  4,  after  one  of  the  justices  had  changed  his 
expressed  views  on  the  question.  Several  states  of  the 
Union,  however,  levy  an  income  tax  on  their  citizens. 

A  progressive  inheritance  tax  is  a  tax  on  those  acquiring 
property  by  inheritance  or  by  will.  The  tax  is  sometimes 
levied  only  on  collateral  heirs,  and  usually  it  is  progres- 
sively graded  either  in  accordance  with  the  size  of  the  in- 
heritance or  with  the  degree  of  remoteness  of  the  relation- 
ship between  the  deceased  and  the  heir,  or  both. 

The  progressive  inheritance  tax,  and  especially  the  col- 
lateral inheritance  tax,  furnish  large  parts  of  the  state 
revenues  in  most  of  the  Australian  colonies  and  in  Switzer- 
land, where  the  tax  is  in  some  cases  as  high  as  twenty  per" 
cent  of  the  estate.  England,  Germany,  France,  Austria, 
Italy,  Spain,  Belgium,  Holland,  Denmark,  Switzerland, 
Russia,  Roumania,  Australia,  Canada,  and  most  of  the 
states  of  the  Union,  all  have  inheritance  taxes,  but  in  most 


ADMINISTRATIVE   REFORMS  29 1 

of  these  countries  except  France  and  Australia,  the  tax 
rate  is  rather  insignificant. 

Socialism  does  not  consider  the  direct  income  and  inher- 
itance taxes  within  the  frame  of  modern  capitalist  society 
as  a  means  of  equalizing  the  distribution  of  wealth,  but  it 
favors  them  as  effective  instruments  for  the  abolition  of 
indirect  taxes,  which  diminish  the  purchasing  power  of 
the  working  class  and  lower  its  standard  of  life. 

The  ''Single  Tax" 

Another  movement  of  tax  reform  which  has  developed 
considerable  strength  within  the  last  quarter  of  a  century, 
especially  in  the  English-speaking  countries,  is  that  based 
on  the  so-called  Single-Tax  theory. 

The  theory  was  first  fully  and  clearly  formulated  by 
Henry  George  in  his  famous  work  "  Progress  and  Poverty," 
published  in  1879,  and  it  has  since  been  elaborated  and 
restated  in  numerous  books,  pamphlets  and  periodicals. 

The  principal  features  of  the  proposed  reform  are  tersely 
stated  by  the  originator  of  the  movement  himself  in  the 
following  language : — 

"We  propose  to  abolish  all  taxes  save  one  single  tax 
levied  on  the  value  of  land,  irrespective  of  the  value  of 
improvements  in  or  on  it. 

"What  we  propose  is  not  a  tax  on  real  estate,  for  real 
estate  includes  improvements.  Nor  is  it  a  tax  on  land,  for 
we  would  not  tax  all  land,  but  only  land  having  a  value 
irrespective  of  its  improvements,  and  would  tax  that  in 
proportion  to  that  value. 

"Our  tax  involves  the  imposition  of  no  new  tax,  since 
we  already  tax  land  values  in  taxing  real  estate.     To  carry 


292  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

it  out  we  have  only  to  abolish  all  taxes  save  the  tax  on  real 
estate  and  to  abolish  all  of  that  which  now  falls  on  build- 
ings or  improvements,  leaving  only  that  part  of  it  which 
now  falls  on  the  value  of  the  bare  land.  This  we  would 
increase  so  as  to  take  as  nearly  as  may  be  the  whole  of  the 
economic  rent,  or  what  is  sometimes  styled  the  '  unearned 
increment  of  land  values.' "  * 

This  single  tax  on  land  values  is  proposed  by  Mr.  George 
and  his  followers  not  merely  as  an  improvement  on  the  pre- 
vailing methods  of  taxation,  but  as  a  cure  of  all  social 
evils  of  our  times. 

The  root  and  source  of  all  human  poverty  and  misery, 
according  to  the  conception  of  the  single  taxers,  lies  in  the 
fact  that  the  valuable  land  in  all  civilized  countries  is 
monopolized  by  a  comparatively  small  class  of  landowners, 
who  appropriate  all  benefits  derived  from  it,  and  impose  a 
high  tax  for  its  use  and  occupation  in  the  form  of  rent. 

This  system  makes  it  possible  for  a  number  of  men  to 
hold  large  areas  of  land  for  speculative  purposes,  thus  with- 
drawing it  from  actual  use.  And  as  land  is  in  the  last 
analysis  the  source  of  all  wealth,  the  withholding  of  any 
part  of  it  results  in  the  curtailment  of  wealth  production 
for  the  nation. 

Furthermore,  so  long  as  land  was  free  to  all,  everybody 
could  gain  his  subsistence  by  agriculture  or  by  industrial 
pursuits  on  a  small  scale,  but  so  soon  as  land  becomes 
private  property,  it  is  only  the  man  who  can  afford  to  pay 
a  high  rent  —  the  capitalist — who  can  engage  in  any 
industry,  while  the  poor  man  is  compelled  to  sell  his  labor 
for  the  best  price  obtainable. 

[*  Henry  George  in  "Financial  Reform  Almanach"  of  England  for  the 
year  1891. 


ADMINISTRATIVE   REFORMS  293 

And  lastly,  rent  being  an  arbitrary  tax  on  production, 
it  draws  from  the  profits  of  capital  and  wages  of  labor 
alike,  impoverishes  both,  gives  rise  to  industrial  crises, 
and  produces  an  unjust  distribution  of  wealth  which  is 
building  up  immense  fortunes  in  the  hands  of  a  few  while 
the  masses  grow  relatively  poorer  and  poorer. 

"The  taxation  of  the  processes  and  products  of  labor 
on  the  one  hand,"  says  Mr.  George,  in  the  article  already 
mentioned,  "  and  the  insufficient  taxation  of  land  values 
on  the  other,  produces  an  unjust  distribution  of  wealth 
which  is  building  up,  in  the  hands  of  a  few,  fortunes  more 
monstrous  than  the  world  has  ever  before  seen,  while  the 
masses  of  our  people  are  steadily  becoming  relatively 
poorer.  These  taxes  necessarily  fall  on  the  poor  more 
heavily  than  on  the  rich ;  by  increasing  prices,  they  neces- 
sitate larger  capital  in  all  business,  and  consequently  give 
an  advantage  to  large  capitals ;  and  they  give,  and  in  some 
cases  are  designed  to  give,  special  advantages  and  mo- 
nopolies to  combinations  and  trusts.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  insufficient  taxation  of  land  values  enables  men  to 
make  large  fortunes  by  land  speculation  and  the  increase 
in  ground  values  —  fortunes  which  do  not  represent  any 
addition  by  them  to  the  general  wealth  of  the  community, 
but  merely  the  appropriation  by  some  of  what  the  labor 
of  others  creates. 

"This  unjust  distribution  of  wealth  develops  on  the  one 
hand  a  class  idle  and  wasteful,  because  they  are  too  rich, 
and  on  the  other  hand  a  class  idle  and  wasteful,  because 
they  are  too  poor  —  it  deprives  men  of  capital  and  oppor- 
tunities which  would  make  them  more  efficient  producers." 

It  is  the  conviction  of  the  disciples  of  Henry  George 
that  a  single  tax  on  land  values  as  advocated  by  them  would 


294 


SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 


gradually  lead  to  the  abolition  of  private  ownership  in 
land. 

The  only  country  in  which  some  general  application  of 
the  tax  on  land  values  has  been  attempted  is  New  Zealand, 
and  while  it  is  claimed  by  the  friends  of  the  reform  that  the 
system  has  on  the  whole  had  a  stimulating  and  beneficial 
effect  on  the  industries  of  the  country  and  has  succeeded 
in  curbing  wild  land  speculation,  predicted  benefits  of  a 
fundamental  character  have  so  far  failed  to  materialize. 
It  must  be  added,  however,  in  justice  to  the  advocates  of 
the  measures,  that  the  New  Zealand  system  of  land  taxa- 
tion is  by  no  means  a  full  application  of  the  single-tax 
theory.  On  the  other  hand,  at  least  one  of  its  principles, 
that  of  taxing  vacant  and  unused  land  most  heavily,  has 
of  late  found  direct  or  indirect  recognition  in  the  systems 
of  taxation  of  several  countries,  states  and  municipalities. 

The  socialists  have  but  little  sympathy  for  the  single- 
tax  theory.  They  do  not  agree  with  the  economic  premises 
on  which  it  is  based,  and  they  consider  the  proposed  reform 
as  entirely  impotent  to  cope  with  the  evils  which  it  seeks 
to  combat,  and  in  some  respects  even  as  distinctly  reac- 
tionary. 

The  single-tax  philosophy  was  evolved  by  Henry  George 
a  generation  ago  in  the  then  little  developed  far  West, 
and  it  is  entirely  adapted  to  the  industrial  conditions 
which  surrounded  him  at  the  time.  It  presupposes  a 
system  of  industry  based  mainly  on  agriculture  and  small 
manufacture,  and  is  sadly  out  of  place  in  a  system  of 
gigantic  factories. 

Land  values  occupy  but  a  secondary  position  in  modern 
industrial  wealth.  If  the  up-to-date  large  capitalist  were 
to  be  taxed  on  the  value  of  his  factory  site  to  the  full  extent 


ADMINISTRATIVE   REFORMS  295 

of  its  rental  income,  but  be  relieved  from  all  taxes  on  the 
factory  buildings,  implements,  stock  and  other  property 
and  income,  he  would  practically  escape  taxation.  On 
the  other  hand,  an  accessible  or  even  free  factory  site  would 
not  enable  the  propertyless  wage  worker  to  equip  a  costly 
modern  plant  and  to  set  up  in  business  on  his  own  account 
in  competition  with  his  present  employer.  It  is  the  private 
ownership  of  the  machine,  even  more  than  the  private 
ownership  of  land,  that  holds  the  working  class  in  bondage. 

The  single  taxer  recognizes  but  one  form  of  economic 
exploitation  —  rent.  The  socialist,  on  the  other  hand, 
asserts  that  the  source  of  all  exploitation  is  the  "surplus 
value"  (the  unpaid  part  of  the  workingman's  labor)  from 
which  all  rent  as  well  as  interest  and  profit  are  derived. 

The  single  taxer  would  abolish  the  landlord,  the  monop- 
olist of  "land  values,"  but  continue  the  existence  of  the 
capitalist  and  wage  worker ;  the  socialist  strives  to  wipe 
out  all  class  distinction  and  to  introduce  complete  economic 
equality.  The  single-tax  theory  professes  to  be  an  ab- 
solute and  scientific  truth  applicable  to  all  ages  and  con- 
ditions alike,  while  socialism  professes  to  be  a  theory  grow- 
ing out  of  modern  economic  conditions,  and  expecting  its 
realization  from  the  steadily  growing  concentration  and 
socialization  of  industry.  The  single  taxer,  lastly,  is  an 
earnest  supporter  of  the  competitive  system  of  industry, 
while  the  socialist  is  as  ardent  a  collectivist. 

Thus  the  two  social  theories  differ  very  materially  in 
their  views,  aims,  and  methods.* 

*  Compare,  Morris  Hillquit,  "History  of  Socialism  in  the  United 
States,"  4th  Edition,  New  York,  1906,  pp.  272,  etc.;  also  A.  M.  Simons, 
"Single  Tax  vs.  Socialism,"  Chicago,  1899. 


296  SOCIALISM   AND    REFORM 

Abolition  of  Standing  Armies 

One  of  the  greatest  evils  of  the  modern  state  is  the 
standing  army.  Cay)italist  society  cannot  be  maintained 
without  a  host  of  soldiers.  In  their  world-wide  competi- 
tive struggles,  the  capitalists  of  each  country  strive  not 
only  to  preserve  and  extend  their  own  markets,  but  also 
to  invade  those  of  the  rival  nations  and  to  conquer  new 
markets.  This  feature  of  the  modern  capitalist  system 
of  production  and  exchange  inevitably  leads  to  clashes 
between  competing  nations,  and  the  specter  of  war  is  ever 
hovering  among  them.  The  modern  capitalist  state  is 
powcx-less  without  a  strong  army  or  navy.  It  must  always 
be  ready  for  offensive  and  defensive  military  action,  and  it 
must  always  make  a  display  of  military  strength  to  curb 
the  bellicose  designs  of  its  neighbors.  It  must  prepare  for 
war,  if  it  wants  war ;  it  must  prepare  for  war,  if  it  wants 
peace. 

A  strong  army  moreover  has  within  recent  times  become 
essential  to  the  maintenance  of  capitalist  government  for 
another  reason  and  for  another  purpose.  With  the  in- 
creasing intensity  of  capitalist  exploitation,  the  outbreaks 
of  revolt  on  the  part  of  the  working  masses  tend  to  become 
more  violent  and  frequent,  and  where  these  outbreaks  are 
of  such  a  character  that  the  local  authorities  are  either 
powerless  to  cope  with  them,  or  disinclined  to  interfere 
with  them,  the  army  is  the  most  effective  instrument  for 
their  suppression.  To  the  capitalist  government  the  army 
is  an  organization  for  the  protection  of  the  ruling  classes 
from  "all  enemies,  foreign  and  domestic,"  and  the  pro- 
tection from  "the  domestic  enemy"  is  often  its  more  im- 
portant function. 


ADMINISTRATIVE   REFORMS 


297 


The  vast  dimensions  of  the  standing  armies  of  the  most 
powerful  countries  of  Europe  are  shown  by  the  following 
figures :  — 


Russia         .        .        .        . 

.        1,500,000 

France         .        .        .        , 

746,000 

Germany     .        .        .        . 

650,000 

Great  Britain 

550,000 

Austria        .        .        .        . 

470,000 

Italy    .... 

,1         TT     •.       1   r^.     1                1    • 

290,000 
1                < 

And  even  in  the  United  States,  which  up  to  recent  times 
has  been  practically  free  from  the  curse  of  militarism,  the 
development  of  industry  and  foreign  commerce  and  the 
growth  of  the  class  struggles  have  of  late  years  given  rise 
to  a  movement  on  the  part  of  the  ruling  classes  to  increase 
and  strengthen  the  army  and  navy.  The  recent  military 
law  of  the  United  States  Congress  aims  to  consolidate  the 
federal  troops  and  the  various  state  militia  organizations 
into  a  standing  army  of  250,000  soldiers,  while  the  agita- 
tion for  a  huge  navy  is  steadily  increasing. 

The  military  and  naval  organizations  of  the  modern 
states  are  an  intolerable  economic  drain  upon  the  nation. 
The  "Nouveau  Manuel  du  Soldat,"  taking  the  statistics 
of  the  year  1899  as  the  basis  of  calculation,  figures  the 
loss  of  productive  value  caused  by  militarism  in  Europe 
as  follows :  — 

The  total  military  expenses  of  the  European  powers  for 
1899  were  $1,436,864,218.  In  the  same  year  those  coun- 
tries had  in  the  field  4,169,321  men,  who,  if  employed 
at  productive  work,  would  produce  every  day,  at  an 
average  of  only  60  cents  per  day  per  man,  a  total  of 
$2,501,592.60.     Europe  had  in  its  armies  710,342  horses 


298  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

which  could  produce  $284,136.80  per  day  at  an  average 
production  of  40  cents  per  day.  The  expenditures  and 
wasted  productive  values  of  the  army  upon  that  basis  thus 
amounted  to  $2,272,523,038  per  year  on  the  basis  of  300 
working  days ! 

This  burden  has  vastly  grown  since  1899.  In  Germany 
alone  the  military  budget  has  increased  from  about 
920,000,000  marks  in  1899  to  1,300,000,000  in  1906-1907. 
Karl  Liebknecht  estimates  the  present  total  military  cost  of 
Europe  at  13,000,000,000  marks,  or  about  $3,250,000,000 
per  year.^ 

The  standing  armies  and  the  navies  are  besides  a  pro- 
lific source  of  general  brutalization  and  demoralization  of 
the  people. 

By  drafting  the  young  men  of  the  nation  into  the  army, 
the  state  withdraws  from  the  productive  ranks  of  the  pop- 
ulation its  most  vigorous  and  useful  members,  compels  the 
rest  of  the  people  to  support  them  in  useless  idleness  during 
their  protracted  term  of  service,  and  at  the  expiration  of  the 
term  it  sets  them  adrift,  often  with  crippled  minds,  cor- 
rupted morals  and  impaired  social  usefulness. 

"When,  after  a  satisfactory  test,  the  young  man  becomes 
a  soldier  in  the  standing  army,"  observes  Vaillant,  "he 
ceases  to  be  a  citizen.  In  order  that  he  may  become  a 
passive  instrument  in  the  hands  of  his  superior,  he  is  de- 
prived of  all  civil  functions  and  political  rights  upon  enter- 
ing the  military  life.  For  him  there  is  no  right  and  no 
law.  He  is  merely  a  thing  of  the  military  state.  It  is  the 
rule  without  exception,  the  rule  established  in  order  that  it 
may  not  be  tempered  by  the  possible  humaneness  of  the 

*  Dr.  Karl  Liebknecht,  "Militarismus  und  Antimilitarismus,"  Zurich, 
1908,  p.  43. 


ADMINISTRATIVE   REFORMS  299 

superior  officer.  The  military  rule  takes  possession  of  the 
young  man  and  arbitrarily  disposes  of  his  actions,  his 
liberty,  his  life.  If  the  brutality  and  arrogance  of  the 
officer  do  not  break  his  resistance  and  will,  he  is  tried,  con- 
victed, sent  to  prison  or  to  death  by  a  court  martial.  This 
is  'justice'  for  him,  these  are  the  tribunals  where  his 
superiors,  constituting  themselves  his  judges  and  exe- 
cutioners, take  their  revenge  for  his  lack  of  discipline.  In 
fact,  it  is  necessary  that  the  army  be  entirely  separated  from 
the  people,  so  that  it  may  serve  against  it,  against  the  work- 
ing class,  as  the  police  force  and  bodyguards  of  the  capi- 
talist class  and  the  government.  For  this  purpose,  es- 
pecially in  an  army  through  which  all  the  children  of  the 
working  class  pass,  it  is  necessary  that  a  discipline  of  terror 
and  of  death  steady  the  arm  of  the  soldier  in  civil  as  well 
as  in  foreign  war."  ^ 

The  rapid  tempo  of  technical  progress  in  all  matters  of 
military  organization  and  equipments  leads  to  constant 
revolutions  in  the  system  of  armament  and  forces  upon  the 
nations  burdens  which  exhaust  their  material  strength. 
The  governments  of  the  principal  countries  of  Europe 
seem  almost  to  have  the  sole  function  of  securing  and  feed- 
ing their  soldiers,  and  the  tremendous  growth  of  the  national 
debts  and  indirect  taxes  necessitated  by  the  standing  armies 
has  brought  many  countries  to  the  verge  of  national 
bankruptcy.  It  was  this  state  of  affairs  which  compelled 
the  youthful  czar  of  Russia  in  1898  to  emit  his  desperate 
cry  for  universal  limitation  of  armament,  which  was  eu- 
phemistically styled  a  "peace  message,"  and  it  is  this  con- 
dition of  things  which  accounts  for  the  modern  "peace 
conferences"  of  the  governments. 
*  Edouard  Vaillant,  "Suppression  de  rArmee  Permanente,"  Paris,  p.  12. 


300  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

The  working  class,  which  furnishes  the  large  bulk  of  the 
army  and  contributes  the  greater  part  of  the  funds  for  its 
support,  is  naturally  opposed  to  all  wars  and  standing 
armies,  and  the  socialists,  as  the  political  spokesmen  of 
that  class,  have  always  carried  on  a  strenuous  propaganda 
against  wars  and  standing  armies.  But  socialists  have 
but  little  enthusiasm  for  the  official  "peace  conferences" 
held  under  the  auspices  of  the  present  governments. 
The  object  of  these  conferences  is  not  to  abolish  stand- 
ing armies,  but  merely  to  decrease  their  size,  and  that  not 
below  the  point  required  for  the  suppression  of  the  "do- 
mestic enemy,"  the  working  class. 

Socialism  stands  for  the  abolition  of  all  wars  and  all 
armies,  but  it  recognizes  that  within  the  modern  social  sys- 
tem this  is  an  unattainable  ideal.  The  practical  socialist 
program,  therefore,  advocates  what  the  socialists  consider 
the  next  best  step,  —  introduction  of  a  national  demo- 
cratic militia  system  instead  of  that  of  the  standing  army. 

There  is  but  one  country  in  the  world  in  v/hich  that 
system  has  found  almost  complete  application,  and  that 
country  naturally  is  the  one  that  may  be  called  the  experi- 
mental laboratory  of  all  social  reforms  —  Switzerland. 

The  militia  system  was  introduced  in  Switzerland  in 
1874.  Subsequently  that  system  was  supplemented  by 
the  institutions  of  the  Landwehr  and  Landsturm. 

The  militia  proper,  or  the  Elite,  consists  of  all  able-bodied 
male  citizens  between  the  ages  of  twenty  and  thirty-two 
years ;  the  Landwehr  is  composed  of  all  men  between  the 
ages  of  thirty-two  and  forty-four  years,  while  all  citizens, 
between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and  fifty  years,  who  for  one 
cause  or  another  do  not  belong  to  either  of  the  two  classes, 
constitute  the  Landsturm. 


ADMINISTRATIVE   REFORMS  3OI 


The  cavalry  exercises  every  year,  all  other  corps  of  the 
Elite,  or  active  army,  every  two  years,  while  the  members 
of  the  Landwehr  are  called  under  arms  for  the  purpose  of 
military  exercise  and  maneuvers  once  in  four  years.  The 
Federal  Council  of  the  republic  is  the  head  of  the  army. 

In  1902  the  total  military  forces  of  the  Swiss  militia 
were  as  follows:  153,649  in  the  Elite,  88,813  in  the  Land- 
wehr, and  in  the  Landstiirm,  43,368  soldiers  under  arms, 
and  237,275  in  the  non-armed  or  auxiliary  service.  In 
other  words,  the  little  republic  with  a  population  of  about 
3,000,000  had  an  active  army  of  285,830  trained  men, 
and  in  case  of  emergency  could  rely  on  523,105  citizens  for 
its  defense.  And  the  total  military  budget  of  Switzerland 
is  less  than  thirty  million  francs  per  year. 

The  militia  system  of  Switzerland  is  the  socialist  model 
of  existing  military  organization,  though  the  socialists  do 
not  consider  it  perfect,  and  strongly  advocate  certain  im- 
provements, especially  the  election  of  officers  and  the  mili- 
tary education  and  training  of  the  youth  as  part  of  the 
general  educational  system. 

The  militia  system  has  been  criticised  as  too  cumber- 
some, irregular  and  scattered  for  offensive  action,  but  in 
the  eyes  of  the  socialists  this  feature  is  one  of  its  greatest 
merits.  The  militia  is  primarily  an  instrument  for  self- 
defense,  just  as  the  standing  army  is  mainly  an  instru- 
ment of  aggression. 

But  the  principal  virtue  of  a  true  democratic  militia  is 
that  it  leaves  the  military  power  in  the  hands  of  the  people 
and  prevents  the  ruling  classes  from  turning  it  into  a  tool 
of  oppression  and  despotism.  The  only  people  that  is 
really  free  is  an  armed  people,  and  the  people  as  such  can 
be  properly  armed  only  under  a  general  militia  system. 


302  SOCIALISM   AND    REFORM 

"I  ask  you  to  observe,"  said  Edouard  Vaillant,  speaking 
in  support  of  his  bill  for  the  introduction  of  the  Swiss 
militia  system  in  France,  before  the  Chamber  of  Deputies, 
"that  when  we  advocate  the  institution  of  militia,  we  do 
not  pretend  to  propose  a  measure  of  socialism.  The  militia 
is  the  military  organization  of  the  city,  which  without  dis- 
tinction between  military  and  civil  functions,  has  become 
at  once  military  and  civil.  It  is  the  present  city  trans- 
ferred to  the  camp,  it  is  the  citizen-soldier,  and  the  soldier- 
citizen,  always  a  citizen  in  all  his  functions,  be  they  mili- 
tary or  civil."     And  again:  — 

"The  armament  of  the  people  is  the  necessary  comple- 
ment to  universal  suffrage  and  to  the  development  of  a  true 
democracy.  The  militia  has  in  all  history  been  the  in- 
stitution of  democracy,  appearing  with  its  victories,  dis- 
appearing with  its  defeats."  ^ 

This  positive  side  of  the  militia  system,  the  arming  and 
training  of  all  male  citizens,  makes  the  reform  of  almost 
as  great  importance  to  the  working  class  of  the  countries 
free  from  standing  armies  as  to  the  workingmen  in  the 
most  military  states. 

*  "Suppression  de  rArmee  Permanente,"  pp.  25,  26. 


CHAPTER   VI 

SOCIAL  REFORM 

Crime  and  Vice 

The  alarming  growth  of  crime  and  vice  in  modern  times 
has  advanced  a  problem  which  society  can  no  longer 
ignore.  Up  to  very  recent  years  the  views  of  the  good  and 
virtuous  people  on  the  criminal  and  the  prostitute  were 
exceedingly  definite  and  simple.  The  one  was  a  mali- 
cious enemy  of  law  and  order,  to  be  mercilessly  run  down 
and  punished  for  his  deliberate  malefactions ;  the  other  was 
a  shameless  creature,  an  outcast  of  society,  to  be  loathed 
and  despised.  And  it  is  only  within  the  last  decades  that 
more  sober  views  on  the  subject  have  begun  to  assert 
themselves.  The  application  of  scientific  methods  to  the 
investigation  of  social  phenomena  was  gradually  extended 
to  the  domain  of  crime  and  vice.  Attempts  were  made  to 
discover  their  true  nature,  origin  and  causes  and  to  devise 
rational  methods  for  checking  their  growth.  The  new 
science  of  criminology  was  thus  born,  and  as  is  the  case 
with  every  social  science,  especially  during  the  period  of  its 
inception,  several  divergent  schools  of  thought  were  soon 
developed  within  it. 

Of  such  modern  schools  of  criminology  the  most  popu- 
larly known  and  most  sensational  is  that  established  by 
the  famous  Italian  criminologist,  Cesare  Lombroso,  the 
school  of  "criminal  anthropology."     The  main  doctrine 

303 


304  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

of  this  school  is  that  the  criminal  is  distinguishable  from 
the  normal  human  being  by  certain  physical  and  psychic 
peculiarities,  which  stamp  him  as  an  uomo  deliquente, 
delinquent  man  or  born  criminal. 

These  peculiarities  are  of  an  atavistic  nature,  and  are 
either  inherited  or  gradually  acquired  through  a  definite 
process  of  physical  degeneration.  The  proof  of  this 
theory  rests  on  the  results  of  extensive  investigations  into 
the  family  histories  of  numerous  criminals,  on  physical 
measurements  and  autopsies  of  delinquents,  and  on  fine 
observations  of  the  general  mental  traits  and  moral  con- 
ceptions of  the  criminal  classes.  The  habitual  criminals, 
according  to  these  observations,  as  a  rule  spring  from  an 
ancestry  tainted  with  drunkenness,  epilepsy  and  insanity; 
they  have  no  conception  of  right  and  wrong,  and  their 
physical  construction  and  appearance  show  a  reversion 
to  the  peculiarities  of  primitive  men. 

Lombroso's  theories  were  extended  by  the  brilliant 
coterie  of  his  disciples,  and  finally  Dr.  B.  Tarnowsky,  of 
the  St.  Petersburg  Military  Medical  Academy,  transferred 
them  from  the  field  of  crime  to  that  of  vice.  To  the  type 
of  the  "born  criminal"  was  added  that  of  the  "born  pros- 
titute," both  possessing  largely  the  same  characteristics. 

The  conception  of  the  born  criminal  leads  necessarily 
to  that  of  the  incurable  criminal,  and  the  school  of  criminal 
anthropology  thus  practically  proclaims  the  hopelessness 
and  futility  of  all  social  attempts  to  curb  crime  and  vice. 
The  doctrines  of  that  school  bear  a  close  resemblance  to 
the  pseudo-scientific  arguments  of  the  old-time  advocates 
of  slavery  and  the  modern  opponents  of  woman's  rights 
—  all  of  them  seek  a  sanction  for  revolting  social  conditions 
in  the  alleged  physical  inferiority  of  the  victims  of  those 


SOCIAL   REFORM  305 

conditions,  and  all  of  them  fail  to  take  into  account  the 
social  and  historical  influences  which  contribute  so  largely 
to  the  development  and  modification  of  the  physical, 
mental  and  moral  type. 

A  substantial  improvement  on  the  one-sided  views  of 
the  school  of  Lombroso  was  introduced  by  the  well-known 
Italian  criminologist  and  socialist  leader,  Enrico  Ferri/ 
Ferri  admits  the  existence  of  a  criminal  type  to  be  dis- 
tinguished by  physical  symptoms,  but  he  regards  such 
symptoms  merely  as  evidence  of  pathological  traits,  in- 
herited or  acquired,  which  predispose  the  subject  to  a 
career  of  crime.  In  his  view  such  criminal  inclinations  are 
by  no  means  irresistible  —  they  may  be  overcome  by  other 
agencies.  Ferri  recognizes  three  main  factors  as  causes  of 
crime ;  the  physico-psychical  constitution  of  the  individual, 
his  natural  environment,  and  his  social  environment. 
He  distinguishes  five  different  classes  of  criminals :  — 

1.  Born  criminals  J  or  persons  with  a  hereditary  taint 
predisposing  them  to  crime; 

2.  Insane  criminals,  or  such  who  commit  crimes  while 
insane ; 

3.  Criminals  through  passion; 

4.  Criminals  through  circumstances,  whose  crimes  are 
accidental  and  are  due  to  their  social  surroundings,  and 

5.  Habitual  criminals,  who  have  become  such  after  the 
first  offense,  through  prison  life  and  associations,  and 
through  the  relentless  persecutions  of  organized  society. 

The  last  two  classes,  according  to  Ferri,  embrace  about 
75  per  cent  of  all  criminals.  But  the  criminals  through 
passion  are  also  largely  the  products  of  the  conditions  of 
the  modern  struggle  for  existence,  and  even  the  born  and 

'  "Crime  as  a  Social  Phenomenon." 


3o6  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

the  insane  criminal  types  are  to  a  large  extent  developed 
by  social  conditions. 

"The  anthropologist  who  recognizes  the  hereditary  or 
acquired  biological  anomalies  of  these  criminals,"  says  he, 
"does  not  thereby  deny  the  indirect  social  origin  of  the 
greater  part  of  these  anomalies  themselves."  * 

Similar  views  are  held  by  many  eminent  criminolo- 
gists, especially  of  the  Italian  school.  The  social  cause  of 
crime  is  still  more  emphasized  by  the  "positive  school  of 
criminology,"  whose  leading  exponent  is  the  well-known 
German  criminologist,  Franz  von  Liszt.  That  school 
does  not  ignore  the  individual  characteristics  of  the  crimi- 
nal as  a  factor  in  the  commission  of  crime,  but  it  attributes 
to  them  a  secondary  importance  only. 

"The  individual  conditions  of  crime  are  often  the 
direct  products  of  its  social  conditions,"  observes  von 
Liszt.  "The  misery  of  the  masses  is  the  fertile  soil  not 
only  for  the  growth  of  crime  itself,  but  also  of  that  degen- 
eration based  on  hereditary  taint  which  in  its  turn  again 
leads  to  crime.  .  .  .  Every  crime  is  the  product  on  the 
one  hand  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  individual  criminal, 
and  on  the  other,  of  the  social  conditions  which  surround 
the  criminal  at  the  time  of  the  deed  —  in  other  words, 
it  is  the  product  of  only  one  individual  factor  and  of  count- 
less social  factors." 

And  again :  — 

"It  is  an  established  fact  that  a  protracted  industrial 
depression  always  results  in  the  increase  of  crime  generally, 
and  especially  of  offenses  against  property,  principally 
theft ;  in  the  decrease  of  marriages  and  births  of  legitimate 

'  Enrico  Ferri,  "Kriminclle  Anthropologic  und  Sozialismus,"  Neue 
Zeil,  14th  Year,  Vol.  II,  No.  41. 


SOCIAL   REFORM  307 

children  with  a  corresponding  increase  of  illegitimate 
births ;  in  the  rise  in  the  infantile  death-rate,  the  increase 
of  suicides,  the  lowering  of  the  average  life  and  in  a  series  of 
other  disquieting  phenomena.  A  close  examination  would 
show  that  the  influence  of  industrial  conditions  on  crimi- 
nality is  more  far-reaching  than  commonly  supposed. 
Thus  the  geographical  distribution  of  criminality  in  each 
country  is  largely  based  on  the  industrial  conditions  of 
the  different  sections  of  the  country.  .  ,  .  Thus  also  the 
strong  increase  of  offenses  against  property  in  December, 
January  and  February  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  de- 
creased opportunities  for  work  in  the  cold  season  and  the 
greater  need  of  food,  clothing  and  fuel.  .  .  .  The  '  indus- 
trial conditions,'  whose  favorable  or  unfavorable  influence 
on  criminality  must  be  primarily  considered  to-day,  are  the 
general  condition  of  the  working  classes,  not  only  their 
financial,  but  also  their  physical,  mental,  moral  and  politi- 
cal condition."  ^ 

The  socialists  most  generally  adhere  to  the  views  of 
von  Liszt  and  the  positive  school  of  criminology. 

Crime  and  vice  do  not  owe  their  existence  to  the  modern 
capitalist  society.  Crimes  against  the  person  are  as  old 
as  human  passion,  and  crimes  against  property  and  the  vice 
of  prostitution  are  probably  as  old  as  the  institution  of 
private  property.  But  if  capitalism  has  not  created  crime 
and  vice,  it  has  created  the  conditions  for  their  wholesale 
development  and  ever  increasing  extension.  For  if  the 
misery  of  the  masses  is  the  fertile  soil  of  crime  and  vice, 
capitalism  is  the  hothouse  of  popular  misery. 

Whether  crime  and  vice  in  their  devastating  triumphal 

*  Quoted  by  Paul  Hirsch  in  "Verbrechen  und  Prostitution  als  soziale 
Krankheitserscheinungen,"  2d  Edition,  Berlin,  1907,  pp.  22,  23. 


308  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

march  brand  the  bodies  and  souls  of  their  victims  with 
visible  marks  of  infamy,  and  whether  they  choose  their 
victims  in  the  prime  of  their  lives,  in  their  cradles  or  in 
their  mothers'  wombs,  is  a  matter  of  little  moment:  the 
modern  social  relations  are  such  that  they  cannot  fail  to 
produce  destitution  and  physical  and  mental  degeneracy 
and  crime  and  vice  as  specific  expressions  of  such  destitu- 
tion and  degeneracy.  All  conditions  surrounding  the 
modern  workingman's  family,  and  especially  the  family 
of  the  most  poorly  paid  workingman,  tend  to  drive  its 
members  to  break  the  established  social  canons  of  law  and 
morality.  The  exhausting  labor  of  the  workingmen  and 
working  women  sap  their  physical  and  moral  strength ; 
their  helpless  and  hopeless  condition  in  cases  of  unem- 
ployment, sickness  or  physical  disability  render  them  des- 
perate; their  repulsive  "homes"  rob  them  of  the  sustaining 
influences  of  family  life  and  drive  them  to  drink  and  to  the 
rude  life  of  the  street ;  the  heartless  treatment  of  their  em- 
ployers and  of  "organized  society"  as  a  whole  makes  them 
morose  and  embittered;  their  misery  is  so  deep,  their 
temptations  are  so  strong,  and  their  powers  of  resistance 
so  weak,  that  it  should  be  a  matter  of  surprise  that  so  many 
of  them  escape  the  clutches  of  crime  or  vice. 

And  just  as  the  heartless  system  of  exploitation  breeds 
crime  and  vice  in  the  classes  of  the  exploited,  so  does  the 
senseless  system  of  competition  and  the  headlong  race 
for  profits  breed  the  crimes  so  prevalent  and  growing  in  the 
ranks  of  the  exploiters  themselves :  fraud,  bribery, 'corrup- 
tion and  numerous  similar  offenses. 

Crime  and  vice  cannot  be  entirely  eliminated  from  the 
capitalist  system  of  society.  They  may  be  diminished,  but 
not  by  police  measures  nor  by  prison  methods,  not  by 


SOCIAL   REFORM  309 

supervision  nor  by  segregation,  not  by  any  system  of 
punishment  or  moral  preaching,  but  by  removing  the  worst 
features  of  those  social  conditions  that  breed  crime  and 
vice.  The  socialists  are  by  no  means  indifferent  to  the 
efforts  to  check  the  growth  of  crime  and  vice,  but  they  recog- 
nize the  absolute  impotency  of  purely  penal  reforms  to 
accomplish  that  end,  and  they  see  the  only  remedy  against 
the  dreadful  double  scourge  of  human  society  in  the 
realization  of  their  general  program  of  industrial  and 
social  reform. 

Intemperance 

Intemperance  as  such  is  not  a  modern  problem.  The  use 
and  abuse  of  alcoholic  drinks  are  as  old  as  written  history, 
and  the  movement  to  combat  the  evil  dates  back  several 
centuries. 

The  first  temperance  society  is  said  to  have  been  founded 
by  Margrave  Frederick  V  in  1600,  and  it  is  instructive  to 
learn  that  the  noble  members  of  that  society  were  bound 
by  a  pledge,  good  for  two  years,  not  to  drink  more  than 
seven  bumpers  of  wine  with  any  meal,  nor  more  than  four- 
teen bumpers  a  day.  They  were,  however,  permitted  to 
quench  any  surplus  of  thirst  with  beer  and  to  drink  one 
glass  of  whisky  on  the  side.  By  this  ideal  of  abstention 
may  be  gauged  the  ordinary  drinking  habits  of  our  fore- 
fathers in  the  good  old  times  when  knighthood  was  in 
flower. 

But  on  the  whole,  drinking  in  those  times  seems  to  have 
been  the  sport  of  the  nobles  rather  than  the  vice  of  the 
masses. 

It  was  only  with  the  advent  of  the  cheap  corn  whisky 


310  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

in  the  sixteenth  century  that  strong  alcoholic  beverages 
became  accessible  to  the  rising  class  of  the  proletariat, 
and  since  that  time  the  drink  habit  among  the  working 
people  has  grown  so  enormously  that  alcoholism  has  be- 
come a  problem  of  the  modern  labor  movement. 

The  use  of  alcohol  affects  the  poor  much  more  injuri- 
ously than  the  men  of  the  wealthier  classes,  even  though  the 
latter  may  be  addicted  to  it  no  less  than  the  former.  The 
ill-nourished  and  weak  organism  of  the  workingman  offers 
but  little  resistance  to  the  ravishing  effects  of  alcohol.  The 
workingman  will  often  succumb  to  a  quantity  of  the  bever- 
age which  will  not  disturb  the  equilibrium  of  a  man  of  the 
better-situated  classes. 

Moreover,  the  workingman's  income  is  as  a  rule  barely 
sufficient  to  cover  the  necessaries  of  his  life.  He  can  pro- 
cure his  drink  only  by  depriving  himself  of  more  sub- 
stantial nourishment,  thus  undermining  his  body  in  two 
directions. 

On  the  whole  it  may  be  truthfully  said  that  intemper- 
ance is  one  of  the  heaviest  scourges  of  the  working  class 
and  one  of  the  greatest  obstacles  to  all  progressive  labor 
movements  and  to  socialism. 

The  excessive  use  of  alcohol  enfeebles  and  brutalizes 
large  masses  of  the  workingmen.  It  renders  them  incap- 
able of  study,  training  and  organization,  indifferent  to 
the  struggles  of  their  class,  and  inaccessible  to  its  aspira- 
tions and  ideals. 

The  alcoholic  habits  of  the  working  class  are  deeply 
rooted  in  the  material  conditions  of  their  lives.  They  are 
largely  caused  and  stimulated  by  their  industrial  and  social 
surroundings. 

Mr.  Emanuel  Wurm,  in  an  able  report  on  Alcoholism 


SOCIAL  REFORM  31I 

before  the  German  Social  Democratic  Convention  of  1907/ 
mentions  the  following  causes  which  combine  to  stimulate 
drinking  among  the  workers :  — 

1.  The  dwelling  conditions  of  the  poor. 

Says  Frederick  Engels  on  this  point :  "  Returning  from 
the  factory,  the  workingman  finds  a  home  without  any 
comforts,  damp,  unattractive  and  filthy;  he  stands  in 
need  of  exhilaration;  he  must  have  something  to  make  his 
work  worth  while,  to  make  the  prospects  of  the  morrow 
tolerable.  .  .  .  His  social  instinct  can  find  satisfaction 
only  in  the  liquor  saloon ;  he  has  no  other  place  to  meet 
his  friends." 

2.  Mental  exhaustion  caused  by  overwork. 

Modern  factory  work  with  its  monotonous  operations  is 
bound  to  produce  a  condition  of  mental  fatigue  from  which 
the  worker  is  but  too  apt  to  seek  refuge  in  alcoholic  stimu- 
lants. 

3.  Conditions  of  work  creating  an  abnormal  thirst. 

Under  this  head  come  the  industries  in  which  the  em- 
ployees are  forced  to  work  under  a  high  temperature,  or  in 
which  the  shops  are  constantly  filled  with  fine  particles 
of  dust,  or  in  which  the  nature  of  the  work  generates  offen- 
sive fumes  and  gases. 

4.  Insufficient  and  unwholesome  nourishment. 

"The  whisky  habit  is  not  the  cause  but  the  result  of 
misery,"  said  Justus  v.  Liebig,  as  early  as  in  i860.  "  It  is 
an  exception  to  the  rule  when  a  well-nourished  man  be- 
comes addicted  to  whisky.  But  when  a  man  earns  less 
than  is  required  for  the  quantum  of  food  necessary  in 

'  "  Protokoll  iiber  die  Verhandlungen  des  Parteitags  der  Sozialdemo- 
kratischen  Partei  Deutschlands,"  abgehalten  zu  Essen,  September,  1907, 
pp.  345,  etc. 


312  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

order  to  restore  his  labor  power,  he  is  compelled  by  rigid 
and  inexorable  necessity  to  seek  refuge  in  whisky."  ^ 

The  insufficient  nourishment  of  the  workingman  is  due 
to  low  wages,  high  food  prices,  and  also  to  the  unskillful 
preparation  of  his  food.  The  workingman's  wife  has  as  a 
rule  never  had  an  opportunity  to  cultivate  the  household 
arts,  and  seldom  has  the  time  to  practice  them. 

Various  other  causes  contribute  to  develop  the  drink 
habit  among  workingmen,  most  of  them  having  their  roots 
in  the  modern  industrial  conditions.  And  as  is  the  case 
with  almost  all  social  evils  of  the  day,  the  cause  and  effect 
of  alcoholism  move  in  a  seemingly  unbreakable  vicious 
circle  —  misery  causes  drunkenness,  drunkenness  increases 
misery. 

For  a  long  time  the  socialists  of  all  countries  were  rather 
indifferent  to  the  temperance  movement.  They  were  fully 
alive  to  the  dangers  of  the  evil  habit  for  the  working 
class,  but  they  had  little  faith  in  the  cures  offered  by  the 
ideological  temperance  advocates.  High  taxes  on  spiritu- 
ous liquors,  wherever  tried,  have  failed  to  check  the  drink- 
ing evil  and  have  only  resulted  in  greater  inroads  on  the 
meager  budget  of  the  working  families.  Prohibition  has 
proved  as  impotent  to  cope  with  the  evil,  and  as  a  rule 
has  only  served  to  encourage  smuggling  and  illicit  stills. 
Nor  were  the  socialists  inclined  to  expect  substantial 
results  from  a  purely  moral  crusade  against  alcoholism. 
The  generally  accepted  socialist  view  was  that  the  evils 
of  alcoholism  could  be  lessened  only  by  the  betterment 
of  the  material  conditions  of  the  workers,  and  could  be 
removed  only  with  the  abolition  of  the  wage  system.. 

"  As  every  other  evil  of  the  capitalist  mode  of  production, 

'  Quoted  by  Wurm  in  report  mentioned. 


SOCIAL  REFORM  313 

alcoholism  can  be  checked  only  to  a  certain  extent  through 
the  class  struggle.  It  can  disappear  totally  only  with  the 
disappearance  of  the  system  which  has  created  it  and  which 
always  reproduces  it,"  declared  Kautsky  in  1891. 

But  of  late  the  socialists  of  many  countries  have  con- 
siderably changed  their  views  on  the  problem  of  alcoholism 
and  on  the  value  of  the  modern  temperance  movements. 
They  have  gradually  come  to  realize  that  in  the  matter  of 
abstinence  from  or  temperance  in  the  use  of  alcoholic 
drinks,  the  purely  moral  factors  of  will  power  and  de- 
termination play  a  large  part.  In  their  campaigns  against 
the  drink  evil  they  still  lay  the  greater  stress  on  the  better- 
ment of  the  material  conditions  of  the  workers,  but  they 
also  recognize  the  value  of  a  purely  educational  propa- 
ganda against  the  abuses  of  alcohol. 

To  the  Social  Democratic  Party  of  Austria  belongs  the 
merit  of  having  stated  the  proposition  most  clearly  and 
tersely  in  a  resolution  adopted  in  1903,  and  from  which 
we  quote  the  following  portion :  — 

"This  convention  declares  that  alcoholism  has  a  disas- 
trous effect  on  the  physical  and  mental  powers  of  the  work- 
ing class,  and  that  it  is  a  strong  obstacle  to  the  organizing 
work  of  socialism.  No  means  to  remove  the  evils  arising 
from  alcoholism  should,  therefore,  be  neglected.   .  .  . 

"The  principal  means  in  this  struggle  will  always  be  the 
elevation  of  the  material  conditions  of  the  proletariat,  but 
a  necessary  supplement  to  this  is  the  task  of  enlightening 
the  workers  on  the  effects  of  alcohol  and  of  shattering  their 
prejudices  in  favor  of  the  drinking  habit." 

The  socialists  of  Germany  declare  it  to  be  the  duty  of 
organized  labor  to  see  to  it  that  the  workingmen,  and  espe- 
cially their  children,  be  enlightened  by  oral  and  written 


314  SOCIALISM  AND   REFORM 

propaganda  on  the  dangers  arising  from  the  use  of  alcohol 
and  the  drink-treating  habit, 

A  similar  stand  has  been  taken  by  the  socialists  of 
Switzerland  and  Holland.  In  Sweden  the  socialist  pro- 
gram contains  a  plank  demanding  that  the  public  schools 
include  in  their  curriculum  a  regular  study  course  on  the 
evils  of  alcoholism.  In  Norway  the  Socialist  Party  de- 
mands the  imposition  of  heavy  taxes  on  all  alcoholic 
beverages.  In  England  the  Labor  Party  favors  the  local 
option  system.  In  Belgium  the  socialists  have  banished 
all  alcoholic  drinks  from  their  numerous  meeting  places 
and  recreation  halls,  while  the  socialists  of  Finland  demand 
the  unconditional  prohibition  of  all  manufacture  and  sale 
of  alcoholic  drinks. 

The  socialists  of  the  United  States  for  the  first  time  took 
official  notice  of  the  alcohol  problem  at  their  national 
convention  of  1908,  and  expressed  their  views  on  the 
subject  in  the  following  resolution :  — 

"  We  recognize  the  evils  arising  from  the  manufacture  and 
sale  of  alcoholic  liquors,  especially  those  which  are  adul- 
terated, and  we  declare  that  any  excessive  use  of  such 
liquors  by  the  working  class  postpones  the  day  of  the  final 
triumph  of  our  cause.  But  we  do  not  believe  that  alcohol- 
ism can  be  cured  by  an  extension  of  police  powers  under  the 
capitalistic  system.  Alcoholism  is  a  disease,  and  it  can  be 
cured  best  by  the  stopping  of  underfeeding,  overwork  and 
underpay,  which  result  from  the  present  wage  system." 

I  The  Housing  of  the  Poor 

The  dwelling  conditions  of  the  working  people,  especially 
in  the  large  cities  and  in  factory  towns,  present  a  problem 


SOCIAL   REFORM  315 

of  growing  importance.  Herded  together  like  sheep,  large 
families  of  human  beings  of  all  ages  and  sexes  live  in  one 
or  two  small  squalid  rooms,  without  sufficient  air  or  light. 
Here  they  cook,  wash,  dress,  eat,  sleep,  quarrel  and  curse, 
make  merry  and  make  love  in  the  constant  company  of 
each  other  and  in  an  atmosphere  of  filth,  irritation,  cruelty 
and  misery.  The  congested  tenements  are  not  only  pro- 
lific sources  of  drunkenness,  but  also  veritable  breeding 
places  of  sickness,  and  of  all  species  of  vice  and  crime. 
The  foul  air  of  the  " slum"  dwellings  is  surcharged  with  the 
germs  of  death;  the  dread  white  plague  and  all  other 
infectious  diseases  feed  principally  on  the  unfortunate 
inhabitants  of  the  tenements,  and  the  mortality  of  the 
children  of  this  nether  world  is  appalling.  The  miserable 
surroundings  of  these  "homes"  drive  the  children  into  the 
streets,  the  men  into  the  liquor  saloons  and  the  women 
into  the  arms  of  vice.  Tenement  life  in  the  slums  de- 
moralizes the  present  generation  of  the  workingmen,  and 
breeds  a  race  of  feeble,  apathetic  and  cheerless  men  and 
women  which  is  the  greatest  menace  to  our  progress  and 
civilization. 

With  the  concentration  of  industries  and  the  massing  of 
ever  larger  numbers  of  workingmen  in  the  manufacturing 
centers,  the  menace  of  popular  congestion  has  within  the 
last  generation  become  particularly  apparent  and  acute. 
Many  movements  for  the  reform  of  the  housing  conditions 
of  the  poor  have  sprung  up,  many  measures  of  relief  have 
been  proposed. 

The  first  impulse  of  the  tenement-house  reformers  is  to 
go  at  the  solution  of  the  problem  in  what  seems  to  be  the 
most  direct  way.  They  wish  to  physically  destroy  the 
slum  or  to  eradicate  its  worst  evils :  to  wash,  sweep  and 


3l6  SOCIALISM   AND    REFORM 

air  the  squalid  rooms ;  to  break  through  windows  in  their 
dark  walls  to  let  in  air  and  sunshine,  and  finally  to  dis- 
tribute the  unfortunate  tenement  dwellers  over  a  wider 
area  by  removing  many  of  them  from  the  congested  spots 
into  the  more  cheerful,  healthy  and  sunny  suburbs. 

These  purely  mechanical  reforms  have  been  tried  and 
are  being  tried  to-day  in  all  of  the  worst  slum  centers  of  the 
world. 

More  than  forty  years  ago  Miss  Octavia  Hill  of  London 
inaugurated  a  movement  which  has  for  its  object  the  train- 
ing of  tenement  dwellers  in  the  habits  of  cleanliness,  order 
and  decency  in  their  households,  and  the  movement  has 
found  many  enthusiastic  adherents  in  some  of  the  large 
industrial  cities  of  England,  Scotland  and  the  United 
States. 

Laws  providing  for  the  construction  of  tenement  houses, 
with  better  provisions  for  air,  light  and  sanitary  arrange- 
ments, have  of  late  been  enacted  in  numerous  countries. 

"  Model "  tenements  have  been  built  in  large  numbers. 
The  Peabody  fund  and  the  Guinness  trust  in  England,  as 
well  as  numerous  other  philanthropic  institutions  in  almost 
all  advanced  countries,  have  erected  many  thousands  of 
such  "model"  tenements. 

Several  great  municipalities  of  England  and  Scotland 
have  attempted  to  provide  for  the  housing  of  their  poor 
directly.  They  have  purchased  and  torn  down  their 
worst  tenements  and  have  erected  in  their  stead  sanitary 
dwelling  houses,  and  let  them  to  the  poor  at  cost. 

Finally,  the  movement  for  suburban  development  as  a 
cure  for  city  congestion  has  also  assumed  large  and  ever 
growing  proportions.  Almost  every  large  industrial  city  is 
steadily   extending   the   radius  of   its   surrounding   rural 


SOCIAL   REFORM  3I;^ 

territory  as  an  outlet  for  its  crowded  population,  and  multi- 
plying and  improving  its  transit  facilities. 

All  these  measures  have  had  a  certain  beneficial  effect 
on  the  housing  conditions  of  the  city  poor.  Separately  and 
collectively  they  have  probably  served  to  relieve  the  con- 
gestion of  the  working  population  to  some  degree  and  to 
make  their  conditions  of  life  somewhat  more  tolerable,  or 
rather,  without  them  these  conditions  might  have  grown 
even  more  intolerable  than  they  are  to-day. 

But  weigliing  the  positive  achievements  along  these 
lines  of  tenement-house  reform,  we  cannot  help  being 
disappointed  at  the  meagerness  of  the  results.  The  slums 
of  the  world  have  not  disappeared,  nor  have  they  on  the 
whole  been  appreciably  improved  anywhere.  In  compari- 
son with  the  benefits  derived,  the  time,  energy  and  money 
expended  on  those  measures  seem  an  almost  unproductive 
waste. 

Sermons  on  household  cleanliness  and  sanitation,  as  a 
rule,  fall  on  deaf  ears  where  crowding  and  poverty  me- 
chanically produce  filth  and  indifference. 

The  "model"  tenements  have  on  the  whole  proved  a 
great  success  for  their  philanthropic  or  commercial  found- 
ers, a  success  equal  to  from  5  to  10  per  cent  per  annum  on 
their  investments.  But  to  the  masses  of  the  poor  they 
have  brought  but  little  relief.  The  rents  in  new  "model" 
tenements  are  as  a  rule  a  trifle  higher  than  those  in  the 
ordinary  ones,  just  high  enough  to  allow  the  class  of  clerks 
and  other  better-paid  employees  to  take  advantage  of  them 
and  to  shut  out  those  who  most  stand  in  need  of  dwelling 
reform  —  the  poorest  classes  of  workingmen. 

The  municipal  experiments  of  demolishing  the  most 
disreputable  tenements  and  erecting  new  and  better  ones, 


3l8  SOCIALISM   AND   REFORM 

have  also  largely  failed  to  accomplish  the  results  hoped  for. 
But  too  often  it  has  been  found  that  the  procedure  resulted 
only  in  the  transfer  of  the  slum  center  from  one  spot  to 
another.  The  evicted  slum  dwellers  as  a  rule  have  settled 
down  among  their  nearest  slum  neighbors.    . 

And  as  for  suburban  development  —  it  also  did  not 
and  could  not  materially  relieve  the  evil  of  congestion. 
Suburban  development  means,  in  the  first  place,  increased 
means  of  communication  between  the  city  and  the  suburb, 
more  lines  of  street  cars  and  railways,  and  in  the  second 
place,  more  buildings  and  business  in  the  suburbs.  The 
principal  beneficiaries  of  such  reforms  under  present  condi- 
tions are,  as  a  rule,  the  railroad  companies,  the  property 
owners  along  the  new  lines  of  travel,  the  land  speculators 
dealing  in  suburban  property,  and  incidentally  also  our 
upper  and  lower  middle  classes,  who  furnish  the  bulk  of 
all  suburban  population. 

The  slum  dwellers  do  not  move  to  the  suburbs,  they 
cannot  move  to  the  suburbs.  The  slum  dwellers  are  the 
hardest  worked  and  poorest  paid  of  the  working  class. 
They  have  not  the  money  to  pay  the  fares  to  and  from  their 
places  of  work,  and  they  have  not  the  time  to  spend  on 
travel.  Mr.  Jacob  A.  Riis  has  observed  that  the  housing 
problem  is  a  transportation  problem.  That  may  be  true 
for  the  middle  classes,  for  the  workingmen  the  housing 
problem  is  not  a  transportation  problem,  but  a  wage 
problem. 

The  trouble  with  the  movement  for  tenement-house  re- 
form, as  with  all  current  reform  movements,  is  that  it 
touches  the  surface,  but  not  the  root  of  the  problem. 
Under  our  system  of  civilization,  the  "slum"  is  not  a 
local  or  accidental  abuse,  but  a  social  institution.      Pov- 


SOCIAL   REFORM  319 

erty  is  the  inevitable  result  of  our  industrial  system,  and 
the  slum  is  poverty's  logical  place  of  abode. 

The  first  condition  for  the  development  of  a  slum  district 
is  its  proximity  to  the  factory.  The  workingman,  and 
the  poorer-paid  workingman  especially,  is  compelled  to 
live  within  walking  distance  of  his  place  of  work.  The 
price  of  land  in  such  favored  districts,  then,  naturally  rises, 
and  the  landowners  find  it  to  their  best  advantage  to  build 
huge  and  cheap  buildings  occupying  every  available  inch 
of  ground,  and  containing  many  small  rooms.  These 
they  let  for  exorbitantly  high  rent,  and  the  workingman 
tenant  is  compelled  to  crowd  his  family  into  as  few  rooms 
as  physically  possible,  and  to  secure  one  or  more  roomers 
besides  to  help  him  pay  the  rent.  Then  an  entire  industry 
adapted  to  the  needs  and  means  of  the  population  develops 
in  the  district.  In  the  streets  of  the  slum,  in  its  groceries, 
eating  houses  and  dry  goods  stores,  the  vilest  and  cheapest 
of  food  stuffs  and  of  other  commodities  converge  from  all 
parts  of  the  city  and  country.  The  slum  is  adjusted  to  the 
entire  household  economy  of  its  inhabitants  and  holds 
them  in  its  iron  grip.  It  must  persist  as  long  as  exploi- 
tation and  poverty  continue. 

The  various  reforms  heretofore  tried  have  some  value  as 
temporary  palliatives,  and  the  socialists  heartily  favor  them 
as  such.  They  advocate  municipal  construction  of  model 
tenements  to  be  let  to  workingmen  at  cost,  and  they  advo- 
cate suburban  development  through  improved  transit  lines 
to  be  built  and  operated  by  the  city  in  the  interest  of  the 
traveling  public  and  the  employees.  But  they  do  not 
expect  substantial  relief  from  such  measures. 

The  slum  evil  can  be  relieved  only  by  better  wages  and 
shorter  hours,  it  can  be  cured  only  by  socialism. 


APPENDIX 

HISTORICAL    SKETCH   OF    THE    SOCIALIST    MOVEMENT 

Early  History 

Some  writers  on  the  subject  include  in  the  history  of  the 
socialist  movement  all  ancient  and  mediaeval  manifesta- 
tions of  communistic  thought  and  institutions.  But  as  a 
matter  of  fact  the  modern  socialist  movement  has  nothing 
in  common  with  the  Utopias  of  Plato,  Campanella  and 
More,  or  with  the  prehistoric  tribal  institutions,  early- 
Christian  practices  or  the  various  sectarian  communities 
of  the  Middle  Ages. 

The  political  socialist  movement  of  our  day  is  primarily 
a  movement  of  the  working  class,  and  has  for  its  object  the 
reconstruction  of  the  present-day  system  of  industry  on  the 
basis  of  collective  ownership  of  the  tools  of  production. 

The  movement  thus  presupposes  the  existence  of  a 
competitive  individualist  system  of  industry  and  of  a  wage- 
earning  class.  In  other  words,  modern  socialism  is 
unthinkable  without  its  antithesis  —  capitalism.  Social- 
ism is  the  child  of  the  modern  or  "capitalist"  system  of 
production.  And  more  than  that,  it  is  the  product  of  that 
system  at  a  certain  advanced  stage.  The  socialist  move- 
ment is  a  protest  against  the  present  industrial  system, 
hence  it  presupposes  a  state  of  development  of  that  system 
to  a  point  where  it  has  become  oppressive;  it  involves  a 
criticism  of  the  system,  hence  it  implies  a  dissatisfaction 

320 


APPENDIX  321 

with  it;  and  finally,  it  offers  a  substitute  for  the  present 
system,  hence  it  is  predicated  on  the  assumption  of  a  state 
of  decline  of  the  capitalist  regime. 

Thus  while  the  beginnings  of  the  present  industrial 
system  may  be  traced  back  to  the  fifteenth  or  sixteenth 
century  of  our  era,  the  modern  socialist  movement  is  barely 
more  than  a  century  old. 

Socialism,  like  most  other  social  theories  and  movements, 
has  passed  through  several  stages  of  development  before 
reaching  its  modern  aspect. 

In  its  first  phases  it  was  primarily  a  humanitarian  move- 
ment, and  its  political  role  was  but  secondary  and  inci- 
dental. 

The  early  socialists  saw  only  the  evils  of  the  new  system 
of  production;  they  did  not  penetrate  into  its  historical 
significance  and  tendencies.  The  evils  of  the  system  ap- 
peared to  them  as  arbitrary  deviations  from  the  "eternal 
principles"  of  "natural  law," 'justice  and  reason,  and  the 
social  system  itself  as  a  clumsy  and  malicious  contrivance 
of  the  dominant  powers  in  society. 

To  the  "unreasonable"  and  "unjust"  social  systems  of 
their  times  they  opposed  more  or  less  fantastic  schemes 
of  social  organization  of  their  own  invention  supposed  to  be 
free  from  the  abuses  of  modern  civilization,  and  thereupon 
they  appealed  to  humanity  at  large  to  test  those  schemes. 

These  social  schemes  were,  as  a  rule,  unfolded  by  their 
authors  by  means  of  description  of  a  fictitious  country  with 
a  mode  of  life  and  form  of  government  to  suit  their  own 
ideas  of  justice  and  reason.  The  happy  country  thus  de- 
scribed was  the  Utopia  (Greek  for  "Nowhere"),  hence 
the  designation  of  that  phase  of  the  socialist  movement 
as  "Utopian." 

Y 


322  APPENDIX 

One  of  the  fruits  of  these  theories  was  the  organization 
of  the  numerous  communistic  societies  of  the  early  part  of 
the  last  century.  The  Utopian  socialists  knew  of  no 
reason  why  their  plans  of  social  organization  should  not 
work  in  a  more  limited  sphere  just  as  satisfactorily  as  on 
a  national  scale,  and  they  fondly  hoped  that  they  would 
gradually  convert  the  entire  world  to  their  system  by  a 
practical  demonstration  of  its  feasibility  and  benefits  in 
a  miniature  society. 

Another  practical  application  of  the  Utopian  socialist 
philosophy  is  to  be  found  in  the  conspiratory  revolutionary 
societies  which  accompanied  the  socialist  agitation  of 
several  European  countries,  notably  France,  in  the  thirties 
and  forties  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  object  of  these 
societies  was  to  capture  the  organs  of  government  and  to 
decree  a  socialist  state  of  society,  a  perfectly  sane  and 
logical  procedure  from  the  point  of  view  of  men  who  be- 
lieved that  systems  of  society  could  be  created  and  altered 
at  will. 

As  with  every  other  movement  it  is,  of  course,  impos- 
sible to  locate  the  exact  starting  point  of  modern  social- 
ism. In  a  general  way,  however,  it  may  be  said  that  the 
beginning  of  the  modern  socialist  movement  coincides 
with  the  period  of  the  great  French  Revolution. 

The  first  gleams  of  socialist  philosophy  appear  in  the 
works  of  the  pre-Revolutionary  French  philosophers  of  the 
school  of  the  Encyclopedists,  notably  in  those  of  Jean 
Jacques  Rousseau,  who  as  early  as  in  1^54  denounced 
private  property  as  the  cause  of  all  crimes. 

But  a  much  more  definite  and  elaborate  expression  of  the 
Utopian  socialist  creed  we  find  in  the  two  works  of  Morelly : 
"  Naufrage  des  lies  Flottantes  ou  la  Basiliade"  (The  Ship- 


APPENDIX  323 

wreck  of  the  Floating  Islands  or  Basiliade),  1753,  and 
"Code  de  la  Nature"  (Code  of  Nature),  1753.  The 
former  is  an  Utopian  novel  in  metrical  form,  and  the  latter 
is  a  philosophic  essay.  Morelly  is  a  keen  and  farseeing 
critic  of  the  industrial  system  of  individualist  competition, 
and  advocates  a  somewhat  loose  form  of  communism. 

Next  to  Morelly,  Gabriel  Mably  (i 709-1 785)  must  be 
mentioned  among  the  early  French  socialist  writers.  Like 
Morelly,  Mably  advocated  a  social  system  based  on  the 
community  of  property,  with  the  difference,  however,  that 
the  state  of  Mably  is  highly  centralized,  both  in  the  system 
of  production  and  distribution. 

A  more  realistic  note  in  the  literature  of  the  young 
socialist  speculation  is  introduced  by  the  French  lawyer, 
Franfois  Boissel  (1728-1807),  whose  "Catechisme  du 
Genre  Humain"  (Catechism  of  Mankind),  which  appeared 
in  1789,  the  year  of  the  French  Revolution,  contains  the 
first  attempt  at  a  scientific  analysis  of  the  modern  mode 
of  production. 

These  three  authors  are  the  principal  exponents  of 
socialism  in  pre-Revolutionary  France.  Their  works  are 
purely  theoretical,  and  they  did  not  result  in  any  socialist 
activity. 

The  first  direct  step  toward  an  active  revolutionary 
and  socialist  movement  was  made  by  Francois  Noel 
Babeuf  (1760-1796).  Babeuf,  himself  an  active  factor 
in  the  great  French  Revolution,  was  by  no  means  satisfied 
with  its  accomplishments.  "The  Revolution,"  he  argued, 
"has  proclaimed  Liberty,  Fraternity  and  Equality,  but 
equality  is  a  mere  sham  unless  it  is  social  and  economic  as 
well  as  political."  With  the  aim  of  capturing  the  govern- 
ment  of  France   and   establishing  social   and   economic 


324  APPENDIX 

equality,  he  organized  the  famous  Conspiracy  of  Equals. 
The  movement  is  said  to  have  attained  considerable 
dimensions  in  Paris  when  it  was  detected  in  1796. 
Babeuf  was  convicted  on  the  charge  of  treason,  and  be- 
headed. Years  later,  Filippo  Buonarotti,  a  friend  and 
disciple  of  Babeuf,  published  the  history  of  the  conspiracy 
and  the  program  of  the  conspirators,  and  the  work  played 
a  large  part  in  the  movement  of  the  secret  socialist  societies 
of  later  years. 

Babeuf  was  the  last  representative  of  the  eighteenth- 
century  socialism.  The  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury produced  a  series  of  socialist  thinkers  and  workers 
who  have  influenced  the  shaping  of  the  present-day 
socialist  movement  more  directly  than  their  predecessors. 
Of  these,  two  are  always  mentioned  together.  They  are 
Charles  Henri  Saint-Simon  and  Charles  Fourier. 

Saint-Simon  is  a  teacher  rather  than  a  practical  social 
reformer.  The  keynote  to  his  philosophy  is  the  demand 
that  society  be  organized  not  on  a  political  but  on  an  in- 
dustrial basis.  His  last  work,  "Nouveau  Christianisme" 
(New  Christianity)  is  the  most  complete  exposition  of 
his  social  views,  and  contains  the  germs  of  the  theory  of 
economic  determinism  which  in  the  hands  of  Karl  Marx 
subsequently  became  one  of  the  most  powerful  weapons  in 
the  arsenal  of  contemporary  socialist  philosophy. 

After  the  death  of  Saint-Simon  his  work  was  continued 
by  a  talented  coterie  of  his  disciples,  prominent  among 
whom  were  Olinde  Rodrigue  (i 794-1851),  Barthelemy 
P.  Enfantin  (1796-1864),  Armand  Bazard  (1791-1832), 
Auguste  Comte,  the  father  of  positive  philosophy,  and 
Ferdinand  de  Lesseps,  of  the  Suez  Canal  fame.  The 
Saint-Simonian  school  at  one  time  gained  considerable 


APPENDIX  325 

influence  in  the  intellectual  circles  of  France,  its  organ,  "  Le 
Globe"  had  a  large  circulation,  and  in  the  revolution  of 
1830  the  Saint-Simonians  played  a  not  unimportant  part. 
But  the  movement  ultimately  split,  principally  on  the 
question  of  woman's  rights.  Under  the  leadership  of 
Enfantin  the  Saint-Simonian  school  developed  a  mystic 
religious  cult  vi^ith  certain  unconventional  practices  in  the 
relation  of  the  sexes,  which  led  to  the  arrest  of  Enfantin 
and  his  followers  on  the  charge  of  immorality,  and  to  the 
inglorious  end  of  the  Saint-Simonian  movement. 

If  Saint-Simon  was  the  preacher  of  order  and  system, 
Fourier  may  be  called  the  apostle  of  harmony. 

God  created  the  entire  universe  on  a  harmonious  plan, 
reasons  Fourier,  hence  there  must  be  harmony  between 
everything  in  existence.  Endowing  human  beings  with 
certain  instincts  and  desires,  God  intended  their  free  and 
untrammeled  exercise,  and  not  their  suppression.  All 
human  instincts  and  desires  are  legitimate  and  useful,  and 
if  existing  society  curbs  the  right  of  the  citizen  to  follow 
those  instincts  and  desires,  it  is  evidence  of  a  defect  in  our 
social  system,  not  in  the  individual.  Fourier  advocates 
the  reorganization  of  society  on  the  basis  of  autonomous 
communities  of  from  1500  to  2000  members.  These  com- 
munities, styled  by  him  "  phalanxes,"  are  voluntary  associ- 
ations of  citizens  for  the  purpose  of  cooperative  labor 
and  collective  enjoyment,  with  ample  provisions  for  the 
choice  of  associates  and  occupations,  variety  of  pursuits 
and  attractive  surroundings  of  industries.  The  phalanxes 
are  not  communistic  enterprises,  but  rather  partake  of 
the  nature  of  modern  joint-stock  associations,  in  which 
capital  receives  its  reward  as  well  as  labor  and  "talent." 

Saint-Simon  emphasizes  the  rights  and  importance  of 


326  APPENDIX 

society,  Fourier  dwells  principally  on  the  rights  of  the 
individual  citizens  as  against  organized  society.  The  two 
great  Utopians  may  be  said  to  be  the  prototypes  of  the  two 
dominant  tendencies  in  the  social  theories  of  our  times  — 
collectivism  and  individualism. 

Chief  among  the  French  disciples  of  Fourier  is  Victor 
Consid^rant,  under  whose  leadership  the  Fourierist  move- 
ment attained  some  importance  years  after  the  master's 
death.  But  even  more  influence  than  in  France,  the 
philosophy  of  Fourier  exercised  in  the  United  States  of 
America,  where  it  counted  among  its  most  enthusiastic 
adherents  men  like  Albert  Brisbane,  Horace  Greeley, 
Parke  Godwin,  George  Ripley,  Charles  A.  Dana,  Mar- 
garet Fuller  and  other  men  and  women  prominent  in 
the  world  of  letters. 

In  France,  the  home  of  Fourierism,  but  few  attempts  at 
the  practical  realization  of  the  system  were  made,  but  in 
the  United  States  over  forty  phalanxes  were  established 
between  1840  and  1850,  among  them  the  famous  Brook 
Farm  and  the  North  American  Phalanx.  Of  the  socialist 
writers  and  reformers  of  that  period  who  have  largely  con- 
tributed to  the  development  of  the  modern  socialist  move- 
ment, we  must  mention  Etienne  Cabet  (i 788-1856), 
Louis  Blanc  (1811-1882),  Jean  Lamennais  (1782-1854) 
and  Pierre  J.  Proudhon  (1809-1865). 

Cabet's  Utopian  novel  "Voyage  en  Icarie"  (Voyage  to 
Icaria),  published  in  1842,  gave  rise  to  a  popular  movement 
in  favor  of  communism  which  at  one  time  was  said  to 
number  several  hundred  thousands  of  adherents.  The 
movement  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  the  "Icarian 
communities"  in  the  United  States.  The  first  of  these 
communities  was  established  in  Texas  in  1848,  and  the 


APPENDIX  327 

last  of  the  series  perished  in  California  almost  half  a  cen- 
tury later. 

Louis  Blanc,  who  first  achieved  fame  through  his  work 
"Organization  du  Travail"  (Organization  of  Labor), 
published  in  1840,  played  an  important  part  in  the  French 
revolution  of  1848  as  a  member  of  the  Provisional  Com- 
mittee. He  M^as  chiefly  instrumental  in  bringing  about  the 
famous  decree  of  that  committee  recognizing  the  "right 
to  labor,"  and  was  indirectly  responsible  for  the  establish- 
ment of  the  National  Workshops,  which  under  the  post- 
revolutionary  administration  of  the  French  government 
turned  into  a  disastrous  failure. 

Lamennais  is  the  father  of  Christian  Socialism  in  France. 
He  early  advocated  the  union  of  the  Catholic  church  with 
the  growing  socialist  movement  of  the  workingmen.  His 
views  were  condemned  by  Pope  Gregory  XVI,  and  Lamen- 
nais thereafter  addressed  his  appeals  directly  to  the  people. 
His  "Paroles  d'un  Croyant"  (Words  of  a  Believer), 
published  in  1834,  contains  a  burning  indictment  of  the 
selfish  rich,  and  is  full  of  tender  sympathy  for  the  disin- 
herited of  the  world.  It  was  widely  read  by  the  working- 
men  of  his  generation,  and  made  a  deep  and  lasting  im- 
pression on  his  countrymen. 

Proudhon,  the  author  of  the  famous  "  Qu'est-ce  que  la 
Propriete  ?"  (What  is  Property?)  and  "Contradictions 
Economiques"  (Economic  Contradictions),  may  be  said  to 
be  the  father  of  modern  "communistic  anarchism." 

This  review  of  early  French  socialism  would  not  be 
complete  without  a  brief  reference  to  the  secret  societies 
which  made  their  appearance  immediately  after  the  rev- 
olution of  1830,  and  continued  with  varying  degree  of 
strength  and  success  for  about  ten  years.    The  principal 


328  APPENDIX 

I 

organizations  of  that  cycle  are  the  Societe  des  amis  du 
Peuple  (Society  of  the  Friends  of  the  People),  Societe 
des  droits  de  Phomme  (Society  of  Human  Rights),  Societe 
dcs  families  (Society  of  Families),  and  Societe  des  saisons 
(Society  of  Seasons),  and  the  most  prominent  leaders  of 
the  movement  were  Louis  Blanqui  (1805-1881),  Armand 
Barbes  (1809-1870),  Voyer  d'Argenfon  (1771-1842)  and 
Filippo  Buonarotti  mentioned  above. 

While  the  socialism  of  France  during  the  first  half  of  the 
last  century  was  thus  replete  with  various  movements, 
schools  and  thinkers,  the  movement  in  England  during 
the  corresponding  period  is  practically  represented  by  one 
name  —  Robert  Owen. 

The  socialism  of  Owen  differed  from  that  of  his  French 
contemporaries  just  as  much  as  the  political  and  industrial 
conditions  and  national  temperament  and  genius  of  Eng- 
land differed  from  those  of  France. 

Owen  was  primarily  a  practical  business  man,  not  a 
philosopher,  and  still  less  a  conspirator.  His  socialist 
views  were  developed  by  his  contact  with  actual  industrial 
conditions,  more  highly  developed  in  England  than  in  any 
other  European  country,  and  they  always  bore  the  imprint 
of  that  origin. 

Owen's  early  activity  in  the  field  of  social  reform  was 
more  of  a  philanthropic  than  revolutionary  character:  it 
consisted  in  the  long  and  patient  work  of  improving  the 
conditions  of  his  own  employees  in  the  Scotch  manufactur- 
ing village  of  New  Lanark,  and  in  this  he  succeeded  so 
well  that  within  one  generation  (from  1800  to  1824)  the 
former  miserable  village,  with  a  degenerate  and  wretched 
population,  had  become  a  model  community  of  healthy, 
industrious  and  happy  men  and  women. 


APPENDIX 


329 


His  revolutionary  career  may  be  said  to  date  from  1817, 
when  upon  the  invitation  of  the  committee  of  the  As- 
sociation for  the  Relief  of  the  Manufacturing  and  Laboring 
Poor,  he  unfolded  his  views  on  the  causes  of  poverty  and 
the  needed  social  reforms.  The  gist  of  his  views  is  that 
widespread  pauperism  and  popular  misery  are  inseparable 
from  an  industrial  system  based  on  free  competition,  and 
that  under  such  a  system  the  increased  productivity  of 
labor  inevitably  leads  to  the  deterioration  of  the  condition 
of  the  working  class. 

He  was  a  great  believer  in  the  influence  of  environment 
on  the  formation  of  human  character,  and  predicted  that 
improved  material  conditions  of  the  laboring  population 
would  result  in  the  physical,  intellectual  and  moral  regen- 
eration of  the  masses. 

His  activities  as  a  socialist  propagandist  and  experi- 
menter extend  over  forty  years,  and  are  as  variegated  as  in- 
tense. He  organized  the  famous  New  Harmony  communi- 
ties in  the  United  States  (1826-1828),  and  several  similar 
communities  in  England,  Scotland  and  Ireland.  In  1832 
he  established  the  Equitable  Banks  for  Labor  Exchange, 
a  contrivance  for  the  exchange  of  commodities  by  their 
producers  without  the  intervention  of  the  profit-making 
merchant  and  manufacturer,  and  several  years  later  he 
formed  the  Association  of  all  Classes  and  Nations  whose 
members  first  applied  the  appellation  of  "socialists"  to 
themselves.  He  was  indefatigable  in  the  propaganda  of 
his  creed  in  the  United  States  as  well  as  in  England.  He 
delivered  several  lectures  in  the  Hall  of  Representatives 
at  Washington,  called  an  international  socialist  congress  in 
New  York,  and  presided  over  the  first  national  convention 
of  English  trade  unions.     He  was  largely  responsible  for 


330  APPENDIX 

the  introduction  of  the  infant-school  system,  and  is  con- 
sidered the  father  of  factory  legislation. 

Owen's  influence  was,  however,  mainly  personal,  and  he 
left  no  school  or  movement  behind  him. 

In  Germany  the  first  manifestations  of  socialist  thought 
and  activity  are  connected  with  the  names  of  the  cele- 
brated philosopher  Johann  Gottlieb  Fichte  (1762-1814), 
who  in  his  "  Geschlossener  Handclstaat"  (Closed  Trading 
State)  advocates  the  state  regulation  of  production  and 
distribution  of  goods,  and  the  tailor  Wilhelm  Wcitling 
(1808-1871),  who  may  be  considered  the  connecting  link 
between  present-day  socialism  and  its  earlier  forms. 

Weitling  seems  to  have  imbibed  the  theories  of  French 
communism  in  his  early  traveling  days,  but  he  instilled  into 
them  the  life  and  faith  of  the  active  propagandist  and  en- 
thusiastic apostle.  Like  Owen  he  extended  his  activity  to 
all  spheres  of  radical  social  reform  known  in  his  day,  or- 
ganizing cooperative  enterprises,  workingmen's  study  clubs, 
a  communistic  settlement,  trade-union  organizations,  etc. 
His  main  theoretical  works  are:  "  Die  Welt  wie  sie  ist  und 
sein  soUte"  (The  World  as  It  is  and  as  It  Should  Be),  1838, 
"Die  Garantien  der  Harmonic  und  Frcihcit"  (The  Guar- 
anties of  Harmony  and  Freedom),  1842,  and  "Das  Evan- 
gelium  des  Armen  Sunders"  (Evangel  of  a  Poor  Sinner), 
1846. 

Weitling  is  the  first  socialist  to  make  a  more  direct 
appeal  to  the  working  class,  although  the  modern  socialist 
conception  of  class  struggle  is  still  foreign  to  him.  Weit- 
ling's  fields  of  activity  were  Switzerland  and  the  United 
States,  but  his  influence  also  extended  to  Germany,  Austria 
and  the  colonies  of  German  emigrants  in  other  coun- 
tries. 


APPENDIX  331 

In  the  meantime,  the  industrial  development  of  Europe 
had  proceeded  with  giant  strides,  and  with  it  also  the 
scientific  study  of  the  character  and  tendencies  of  the  exist- 
ing industrial  regime.  The  fantastic  theories  and  hypoth- 
eses of  early  socialism,  like  those  of  so  many  other  young 
sciences,  had  to  be  greatly  modified.  Socialism  had  to 
be  given  a  new,  more  realistic  and  sounder  foundation, 
and  this  task  was  accomplished  towards  the  middle  of  the 
last  century  by  the  twin  founders  of  modern  socialism, 
Karl   Marx    (1818-1883)    and   Frederick  Engels  (1820- 

1895)- 
The  socialism  of  the  new  school,  known  as  Marxian  or 

Scientific  socialism,  proceeds  on  the  theory  that  the  social 
and  political  structure  of  society  at  any  given  time  and 
place  is  not  the  result  of  the  free  and  arbitrary  choice  of 
men,  but  the  logical  outcome  of  a  definite  process  of  his- 
torical development,  and  that  the  underlying  structure  of 
such  foundation  is  at  all  times  the  economic  system  upon 
which  society  is  organized. 

As  a  logical  sequence  from  these  views  it  follows  that 
a  form  of  society  cannot  be  changed  at  any  given  time  un- 
less the  economic  development  has  made  it  ripe  for  the 
change,  and  that  the  future  of  mankind  must  be  looked 
for,  not  in  the  ingenious  schemes  of  inventive  social 
philosophers,  but  in  the  tendencies  of  economic  develop- 
ment. 

The  Marxian  socialists  base  their  hopes  on  the  tendency 
of  modern  industries  towards  centralization  and  socializa- 
tion, the  inadequacy  and  wastefulness  of  the  individual 
and  competitive  system  of  production,  and  the  growing 
revolt  of  the  working  classes  against  the  iniquities  and 
hardships  involved  in  that  system. 


332  APPENDIX 

Modern  socialists  address  themselves  not  so  much  to  the 
humane  sentiments  of  society  at  large  as  to  the  self-interests 
of  the  working  class,  as  the  class  primarily  concerned  in  the 
impending  social  change.  They  do  not  indulge  in  minia- 
ture social  experiments  or  in  political  conspiracies,  but  di- 
rect their  efforts  towards  the  education  and  political  and 
industrial  organization  of  the  working  class,  so  as  to  enable 
that  class  to  steer  the  ship  of  state  from  individualism  into 
collectivism,  when  the  time  shall  be  ripe  for  it,  and  to  hasten 
that  time. 

This  phase  of  the  socialist  movement  may  be  said  to  date 
from  the  publication  of  the  celebrated  "  Communist  Mani- 
festo." The  "  Manifesto"  is  a  brief  pamphlet  written  con- 
jointly by  Marx  and  Engels.  It  has  since  been  translated 
into  almost  all  modern  languages,  and  has  remained  to 
this  day  the  classical  exposition  of  modern  socialism. 

The  "Communist  Manifesto"  appeared  in  1848.  The 
great  revolutionary  movement  of  that  year  and  the  long 
period  of  European  reaction  following  upon  its  defeat, 
temporarily  paralyzed  the  young  socialist  movement 
inaugurated  by  Marx  and  his  comrades.  For  almost 
fifteen  years  the  movement  was  confined  to  a  few  scattered 
circles  of  "intellectuals"  in  the  different  countries  of  Eu- 
rope and  did  not  penetrate  into  the  masses  anywhere. 
The  general  political  and  social  awakening  which  marks 
the  beginning  of  the  sixties  of  the  last  century  in  all  princi- 
pal countries  of  Europe  and  in  the  United  States  of  Amer- 
ica, did  not  pass  without  affecting  the  working  classes. 
A  strong  labor  movement  grew  up  in  the  most  advanced 
countries  of  Europe,  and  a  large  portion  of  it  fell  under  the 
spiritual  leadership  of  the  socialists. 

The  first  fruit  of  these  renewed  socialist  and  labor  ac- 


APPENDIX  333 

tivities  was  the  organization  of  the  International  Working- 
men's  Association  (commonly  styled  the  International) 
in  1864.  The  International  was  organized  in  London  by 
some  representative  English  trade  unionists  in  conjunction 
with  a  number  of  political  refugees  of  various  nationalities 
with  whom  the  capital  of  England  was  fairly  teeming  just 
then.  Its  constitution  and  declaration  of  principles  were 
drafted  by  Karl  Marx,  and  the  latter  instrument  was  a 
concise  exposition  of  the  socialist  philosophy  winding  up 
with  the  declaration  —  "  No  rights  without  duties;  no  duties 
without  rights." 

The  International  extended  over  England,  France, 
Germany,  Austria,  Belgium,  Holland,  Denmark,  Spain, 
Portugal,  Italy,  Switzerland,  Poland,  Australia  and  the 
United  States  of  America,  and  at  one  time  was  considered 
a  great  power  in  European  politics.  Its  active  career  em- 
braced a  period  of  about  eight  years,  from  1864  to  1872, 
during  which  time  it  held  six  conventions.  These  con- 
ventions were  largely  devoted  to  the  discussion  of  social 
and  labor  problems,  and  served  to  impress  the  socialist 
movement  of  the  world  with  a  uniform  and  harmonious 
character. 

The  dissolution  of  the  organization  was  brought  about 
by  a  number  of  factors,  not  the  least  of  which  was  the  fate 
of  the  Paris  Commune. 

The  Commune,  proclaimed  in  Paris  on  March  18,  1871, 
in  its  inception  had  no  connection  whatever  with  the  In- 
ternational or  the  socialist  agitation  of  the  time.  Its  name 
was  not  intended  to  imply  any  sympathy  with  the  doctrines 
of  communism,  but  was  merely  meant  to  signify  the  com- 
munal or  municipal  autonomy  of  Paris.  The  proclamation 
of  the  Commune  was  a  result  of  the  revolt  of  the  Parisians 


334 


APPENDIX 


against    the   excessive   centralization   of   government   in 
France. 

Originally  the  movement  was  rather  conservative,  but 
in  the  course  of  the  struggles  between  the  Parisian  Com- 
munards and  their  Versaillian  adversaries  it  became  more 
and  more  radical  in  character.  The  Parisian  populace, 
after  the  Prussian  siege  of  1870,  consisted  largely  of  work- 
ingmen  and  small  shopkeepers  reduced  to  a  state  of  extreme 
poverty  and  suffering,  while  many  of  the  wealthier  citizens 
fled  from  Paris  after  the  proclamation  of  the  Commune,  to 
seek  protection  from  the  national  troops  stationed  at  Ver- 
sailles. The  Commune,  therefore,  assumed  the  character 
of  a  struggle  between  the  Parisian  proletariat  and  the 
French  bourgeoisie,  and  the  International  threw  its  entire 
moral  influence  to  the  support  of  the  former.  When  the 
Commune  was  defeated,  after  a  stormy  existence  of  about 
fwo  months,  the  defeat  and  the  general  European  moral 
opprobrium  which  attached  to  the  memory  of  the  Parisian 
revolt,  strongly  affected  the  standing  of  the  International. 

But  the  deciding  blow  to  the  life  of  the  International 
was  dealt  by  the  growing  spirit  of  anarchism  within  its 
ranks. 

Up  to  about  1869  the  International  was  under  the  undis- 
puted control  of  the  Marxian  wing  of  socialism,  but  in  the 
later  years  of  its  existence  the  school  of  "  communistic 
anarchism  "  steadily  gained  ground  in  the  councils  of  the 
society  under  the  leadership  of  the  apostle  of  the  new  creed, 
Michael  Bakounin  (1814-1876).  Bakounin,  a  Russian  by 
birth  and  a  revolutionist  by  temperament,  had  passed 
through  a  very  picturesque  revolutionary  career  before 
he  joined  the  International.  He  abominated  the  evolu- 
tionary doctrines  and  "tame"  methods  of  Marxian  social- 


APPENDIX  335 

ism,  and  revolted  against  organization  and  discipline. 
He  advocated  the  immediate  rising  against  the  obnoxious 
powers  of  modern  civilization,  and  proclaimed  the  principle 
of  "complete  individual  liberty  restrained  only  by  natural 
laws."  He  was  eloquent,  enthusiastic  and  magnetic, 
and  the  desperate  conditions  of  the  laboring  population 
of  Europe,  especially  in  the  Southern  countries,  furnished 
a  large  and  very  receptive  audience  for  his  promises  of 
quick  and  easy  salvation. 

Anarchism  threatened  to  become  a  power  in  the  Inter- 
national, and  Marx  and  his  friends  decided  to  avert  the 
danger  by  sacrificing  the  organization.  In  1872  the  seat 
of  its  general  council  was  transferred  to  New  York,  and 
three  years  later  the  International  was  formally  dissolved. 

The  International,  however,  had  accomplished  its 
purpose,  and  during  its  activity  the  socialist  movement  of 
Europe  had  developed  to  such  dimensions  that  it  became 
impossible  to  confine  it  within  the  bounds  of  one  central 
organization.  From  this  point  we  shall  have  to  follow 
the  varying  fortunes  of  the  movement  in  the  different 
countries  in  which  it  has  developed. 

Chief  among  such  countries  is,  of  course, 

Germany 

In  Germany  the  present-day  socialist  movement  runs  in 
an  unbroken  chain  from  the  days  of  the  agitation  of  Ferdi- 
nand Lassalle  (1825-1864).  Of  extraordinary  eloquence, 
profound  learning  and  indomitable  energy,  Lassalle  was 
probably  the  most  powerful  popular  tribune  produced  by 
the  nineteenth  century. 

His  active  work  in  the  cause  of  socialism  is  practically 


336  APPENDIX 

confined  to  the  last  two  years  of  his  life.  But  during  that 
short  period  he  succeeded  in  thoroughly  rousing  the  phleg- 
matic working  class  of  his  country  by  his  ringing  speeches 
and  powerful  writings.  In  his  social  views  he  was  a  dis- 
ciple of  Marx,  but  the  principal  issues  of  his  agitation  were 
the  demands  for  universal  suffrage  and  for  the  establish- 
ment of  cooperative  workshops  with  state  credit. 

In  1863  he  organized  the  General  Workingmen's  As- 
sociation, which  at  the  time  of  its  founder's  death  numbered 
only  4610  members,  but  grew  considerably  in  later  years, 
notwithstanding  one  serious  schism  within  its  ranks. 

In  the  meanwhile  a  new  socialist  party,  more  strictly 
Marxian,  was  organized  in  1869,  under  the  leadership  of 
Wilhelm  Liebknecht  and  August  Bebel,  and  the  six  years 
following  are  marked  by  a  bitter  feud  between  the  rival 
organizations.  The  feud  was  terminated  in  1875  by  the 
amalgamation  of  all  socialist  organizations  at  the  Gotha 
convention,  and  the  present  Social  Democratic  Party  of 
Germany  was  thus  born.  Since  then  the  progress  of  the 
socialist  movement  has  been  rapid  and  steady,  and  even 
the  unrelenting  government  persecution  under  the  Excep- 
tion Laws  did  not  succeed  in  checking  its  growth.  These 
laws  were  designed  to  suppress  all  forms  of  socialist  prop- 
aganda, and  their  enforcement  was  attended  by  the  im- 
prisonment and  exile  of  large  numbers  of  the  most  active 
socialists.  They  were  enacted  in  1878  after  two  attempts 
by  irresponsible  individuals  on  the  life  of  the  Emperor,  and 
were  abandoned  in  1890  after  their  futility  had  been  dem- 
onstrated in  practice.  The  growth  of  socialism  in  Ger- 
many can  be  best  appreciated  by  a  comparison  of  the 
socialist  vote  in  the  parliamentary  elections  of  that  country, 
which  was  101,927  in  187 1  and  over  three  and  one  quarter 


APPENDIX  337 

millions  in  1906.  The  Social  Democratic  Party  of  Ger- 
many is  to-day  numerically  the  strongest  political  organi- 
zation in  the  country. 

France 

If  the  socialist  movement  of  Germany  may  be  considered 
a  model  of  orderly  and  methodical  growth,  that  of  France 
has  had,  on  the  contrary,  a  most  bewildering  and  stormy 
career. 

With  the  fall  of  the  Paris  Commune  the  movement  in 
France  had  received  a  blow  from  which  it  recovered  but 
very  slowly.  For  a  number  of  years  after  187 1  the  only 
manifestation  of  socialist  activity  was  to  be  found  in  the 
students'  circles  organized  by  Gabriel  Deville  and  Jules 
Guesde,  and  the  main  efforts  of  these  circles  were  di- 
rected towards  the  propaganda  of  socialism  among  the 
trade  unions.  In  these  efforts  they  gained  a  partial  suc- 
cess in  1878  when  the  general  trade-union  congress  of 
Lyons  pledged  its  support  to  some  socialist  candidates, 
and  several  large  trade  organizations  indorsed  the  entire 
socialist  program.  The  arrest  of  Guesde  and  thirty-three 
other  labor  leaders  in  1879  for  participation  in  a  political 
labor  conference,  and  the  brilliant  defense  of  Guesde  on 
that  occasion,  largely  served  to  increase  the  sympathies 
of  the  working  population  for  socialism,  and  the  general 
trade-union  congress  of  Marseilles,  held  in  the  same  year, 
unreservedly  declared  itself  in  favor  of  the  movement. 

But  this  declaration,  made  by  the  delegates  under  the 
influence  of  the  events  immediately  preceding  the  conven- 
tion, did  not  seem  to  have  the  unanimous  support  of  their 
constituents.  At  the  following  convention,  held  in  Havre  in 
z 


338  APPENDIX 

1880,  the  discussion  was  resumed,  and  resulted  in  a  split. 
The  organized  workingmen  divided  themselves  into  two 
separate  organizations  distinguished  from  each  other  as 
"collectivists"  and  "cooperativists"  respectively.  And 
the  socialist  movement  in  France  has  ever  thereafter  pro- 
gressed through  a  process  of  alternate  fusions  and  divisions. 
The  first  schism  in  the  ranks  of  the  socialist  movement 
proper  took  place  in  1882,  when  the  strict  adherents  of 
Marxian  socialism,  led  by  Jules  Gufesde,  Paul  Lafargue  and 
Gabriel  Deville,  separated  from  the  Possibilist  or  oppor- 
tunist socialists,  headed  by  Paul  Brousse  and  Benoit 
Malon.  The  former  organized  the  Parti  Ouvrier 
(Labor  Party),  and  the  latter,  the  Federation  Frangaise 
des  Travailleurs  Socialistes  Revoliitionaires  (French 
Federation  of  SociaHst  Revolutionary  Workingmen). 
To  these  must  be  added  the  Parti  Revolution  aire  founded 
by  the  veteran  of  the  French  Revolution,  Blanqui,  upon  his 
release  from  his  last  term  of  imprisonment  in  1879,  and 
after  his  death  directed  by  the  well-known  communard, 
Edouard  Vaillant, 

The  number  of  socialist  parties  was  further  augmented 
by  a  split  within  the  ranks  of  the  Possibilists,  the  more 
radical  wing  of  which  organized  an  independent  party  in 
1 89 1  under  the  name  of  Parti  Ouvrier  Revolutionaire 
Socialiste,  and  under  the  leadership  of  Allemane,  and  also 
by  the  formation  of  numerous  local  groups  of  "independ- 
ent socialists"  whose  membership  included  such  promi- 
nent socialists  as  fitienne  Millerand  and  Jean  Jaures. 

The  period  between  1898  and  1901  is  marked  by  efforts 
to  bring  about  the  union  of  socialist  forces.  These  efforts 
were  partly  realized  in  1900,  when  a  national  congress  of  all 
French  socialist  parties  and  organizations  was  held  in  Paris. 


APPENDIX  339 

But  in  the  meanwhile  a  new  issue  presented  itself  to  the 
socialists  of  France.  The  events  attending  the  Dreyfus 
agitation  had  forced  socialists  to  the  front  in  national  poli- 
tics, and  one  independent  socialist,  fitienne  Millerand, 
was  given  a  portfolio  in  the  cabinet  of  the  new  premier, 
Waldeck-Rousseau.  Millerand's  entry  into  the  "bour- 
geois" cabinet  had  the  approval  of  the  more  liberal  or 
"opportunist"  wdng  of  the  socialist  movement  under  the 
leadership  of  the  eloquent  Jean  Jaures,  but  was  strongly 
condemned  by  the  more  orthodox  faction  headed  by  Jules 
Guesde.  And  on  this  new  issue  the  socialist  organizations 
of  France  now  grouped  themselves.  The  "  ministerialists" 
combined  into  the  Parti  Socialiste  Frangais,  while  the 
"anti-ministerialists"  united  into  the  Parti  Socialiste  de 
France.  Both  parties  continued  a  separate  though  not 
always  antagonistic  existence  until  1905,  when  they  united 
into  one,  largely  through  the  good  services  of  the  Inter- 
national Socialist  Congress  held  in  Amsterdam  in  1904. 
The  new  party  is  the  first  in  France  to  bring  together  all 
of  the  more  important  socialist  organizations  under  one 
administration,  although  some  minor  groups  of  "inde- 
pendent" socialists  still  remain  in  existence. 

The  first  socialist  campaign  in  parliamentary  elections 
in  France  was  made  in  1885,  when  the  combined  socialist 
parties  polled  about  30,000  votes.  The  successive  growth 
of  the  socialist  parliamentary  vote  is  shown  by  the  follow- 
ing round  figures :  — 

1887      .     .     .  47,000 


1889  . 

.  .   120,000 

1893    . 

.  .   440,000 

1898  . 

.  .   700,000 

1902 

.  .   805,000 

1906   .  . 

.  1,120,000 

340  APPENDIX 

Russia 

While  the  modem  socialist  movements  in  Germany  and 
France,  as  well  as  in  all  other  F^uropean  countries,  are 
primarily  economic  in  their  character,  and  are  supported 
principally  by  the  industrial  working  classes,  the  movement 
in  Russia  was  in  its  inception  preponderatingly  poUtical 
and  ethical,  and  was  represented  principally  by  men  and 
women  of  the  better-situated  and  cultured  classes.  This 
difference  in  the  character  of  the  movement  is  accounted 
for  by  the  difference  between  the  social  and  economic 
conditions  of  that  country  and  the  rest  of  Europe  at  the 
period  of  the  birth  of  socialism  in  Russia.  At  a  time  when 
the  modern  industrial  regime  was  fully  developed,  and  the 
system  of  representative  government  firmly  established 
in  the  other  principal  countries  of  Europe,  Russia  was  a 
purely  agricultural  country  with  a  population  of  peasants 
just  liberated  from  serfdom,  with  no  manufacturing  class 
or  industrial  proletariat  worth  mentioning,  and  with  an 
almost  Asiatic  form  of  autocratic  government.  The  so- 
cialism of  Russia  was  not  the  direct  result  of  economic  de- 
velopment, not  a  form  of  class  struggle  between  the  classes 
of  capitalists  and  workingmen :  it  was  partly  an  expression 
of  political  revolt  against  absolute  czarism,  and  partly  a 
reflex  of  the  economic  socialist  theories  with  such  modi- 
fications as  comported  with  the  pecuhar  conditions  of 
Russia. 

The  first  expressions  of  socialist  thought  in  Russia 
coincide  with  the  agitation  for  the  emancipation  of  the 
serfs,  and  its  best-known  representatives  of  that  period 
are  a  famous  coterie  of  publicists  and  critics  among  whom 
we  must  mention  Alexander  Herzen,  an  expatriated  noble- 


APPENDIX  341 

man  of  considerable  wealth,  who  conducted  an  active 
agitation  for  Russian  freedom  from  London  principally 
by  means  of  his  magazine  Kolokol  (Bell),  and  Nicholas 
Chernyshefsky,  the  editor  of  the  influential  magazine 
Sovremennik  (Contemporary),  who  was  deported  to  Si- 
beria in  the  prime  of  his  life,  to  return  thence  an  old  man 
and  a  physical  and  mental  wreck. 

The  next  phase  of  the  socialist  movement  in  Russia  is 
that  designated  as  "  Nihilism."  The  word  was  coined  by 
the  well-known  novelist  Ivan  Turgenief  as  a  term  of  ridicule 
of  the  new  current  of  Russian  thought  which  developed 
strongly  around  i860  to  1870,  and  whose  main  characteris- 
tics were  a  crude  materialism  and  the  negation  of  all 
established  beliefs. 

"Nihilism"  was  an  intellectual  rather  than  a  political 
or  social  movement,  but  its  effect  was  to  promote  socialism 
in  two  ways ;  it  created  a  negative  attitude  towards  the  old 
order  of  things  in  Russia,  and  it  developed  a  thirst  for  posi- 
tive knowledge  among  the  youth  of  both  sexes,  driving 
large  numbers  of  them  into  the  universities  of  Western 
Europe,  principally  those  of  Switzerland,  since  they  could 
not  quench  that  intellectual  thirst  at  home.  These  young 
and  receptive  Russian  students  were  powerfully  attracted 
by  the  awakening  socialist  movement  of  Western  Europe, 
and  also  came  under  the  influence  of  their  own  exiled 
countrymen,  Michael  Bakounin,  Alexander  Herzen  and 
Peter  Lavroff,  the  foremost  Russian  representative  of 
scientific  socialism  at  that  time.  The  socialist  sympathies 
of  these  Russian  students  were  so  manifest  that  their 
government  finally  took  alarm,  and  in  1873  summarily 
recalled  them  to  their  fatherland  under  pain  of  exile.  The 
effect  of  the  order  was  hardly  gratifying  to  the  government : 


342  APPENDIX 

the  students  returned  in  large  numbers,  but  they  returned 
as  active  socialist  propagandists. 

At  this  stage  of  the  movement  Russian  socialism  was 
perfectly  peaceful.  The  activities  of  the  young  propa- 
gandists were  principally  educational ;  their  main  effort  was 
to  raise  the  intellectual  level  of  the  illiterate  peasantry 
composing  the  great  bulk  of  the  population.  They  spread 
in  the  villages,  settled  among  the  peasants,  whose  habits, 
language  and  even  dress  they  tried  to  imitate,  and  con-, 
ducted  the  work  of  socialist  propaganda  side  by  side  with 
that  of  general  education.  But  their  activity  provoked 
severe  government  persecutions;  the  "political  offenders" 
were  hounded  down,  executed,  imprisoned  or  exiled  to 
Siberia,  frequently  without  so  much  as  the  formality  of  a 
trial.  Within  five  years  the  young  movement  found  itself 
practically  checked :  the  socialist  propagandists,  reduced 
in  numbers  and  rendered  desperate  by  the  relentless  and 
cruel  police  persecution,  abandoned  the  peaceful  methods 
of  propaganda.  A  seeming  accident  determined  the  suc- 
ceeding phase  of  Russian  socialism. 

In  1878  a  young  woman  named  Vera  Sassulich  shot  at 
General  Trepoff,  the  military  commandant  of  St.  Peters- 
burg, as  an  act  of  revenge  for  his  brutal  treatment  of  a 
political  prisoner.  Vera  Sassulich  was  placed  on  trial  for 
the  offense,  but  was  triumphantly  acquitted  by  the  jury 
amid  the  plaudits  of  the  better  part  of  the  population. 
Encouraged  by  the  success  of  Sassulich,  deprived  of  all 
means  of  peaceful  activity,  and  rendered  desperate  by  the 
relentless  police  persecutions,  the  socialists  turned  to 
methods  of  force  and  conspiracy. 

A  sudden  and  radical  change  took  place  in  the  Russian 
revolutionary  movement.     The  old  type  of  peaceful  propa- 


APPENDIX  343 

gandist  and  dreamer  disappeared,  and  instead  of  him  there 
arose  the  sullen  and  determined  terrorist.  The  Russian 
socialists  engaged  in  mortal  combat  with  the  autocratic 
government,  and  the  embodiment  of  that  government,  the 
czar,  in  person.  The  struggle  lasted  but  a  few  years,  and 
it  was  the  strangest  ever  witnessed  in  history.  A  mere 
handful  of  idealists,  without  substantial  support  on  the  part 
of  any  class  of  the  population,  was  arrayed  against  the 
rulers  of  Russia,  supported  by  a  powerful  police,  a  vast 
army  and  unlimited  resources;  and  still  the  struggle  was 
fierce,  just  as  fierce  on  the  one  side  as  on  the  other.  The 
"white  terror"  of  the  government  was  fully  balanced  by 
the  "red  terror"  of  the  revolutionists.  The  enthusiasm, 
courage  and  ingenuity  displayed  by  the  Russian  socialists, 
men  and  women,  during  that  period,  defy  comparison. 
The  annals  of  these  few  years  of  the  movement  are  the 
most  romantic  in  the  history  of  international  socialism, 
and  are  characterized  by  numerous  political  assassinations, 
and  by  the  imprisonment  and  execution  of  the  most  gifted 
leaders  of  Russian  socialism.  The  movement  culminated 
in  the  assassination  of  Czar  Alexander  II,  and  this  triumph 
of  the  first  period  of  revolutionary  terrorism  in  Russia 
was  also  its  end.  The  Russian  revolutionists  had  expected 
that  the  killing  of  the  czar  would  be  the  signal  for  a  general 
revolt,  but  in  this  expectation  they  found  themselves  sorely 
disappointed.  The  population  of  Russia  was  not  ready 
for  a  revolution  at  that  time,  and  had  but  little  sympathy 
or  understanding  for  the  youthful  socialists. 

The  Will  of  the  People,  the  famous  fighting  organiza- 
tion of  the  revolutionary  terrorists,  survived  the  assassi- 
nation of  Alexander  II  only  a  few  years. 

In  the  meanwhile,  modern  industrial  conditions  rapidly 


344  APPENDIX 

developed  in  Russia,  and  with  them  developed  a  new  social 
power,  the  class  of  factory  workers. 

Thus  was  prepared  in  Russia  the  soil  for  a  socialist 
movement  after  the  pattern  of  Western  Europe,  and  the 
soil  rapidly  produced  a  plentiful  harvest.  Already  in  the 
days  of  revolutionary  terrorism  a  small  group  of  Russian 
socialists,  headed  by  George  Plekhanoff,  Paul  Axelrod  and 
Vera  Sassulich,  had  based  their  hopes  for  the  future  of 
Russian  socialism  in  the  nascent  class  of  industrial  workers, 
and  their  propaganda  kept  pace  with  the  growth  and  spread 
of  that  class.  In  the  early  nineties  of  the  last  century, 
official  Russia,  greatly  to  its  surprise  and  dismay,  found 
itself  confronted  in  all  industrial  centers  by  a  well-organized 
and  radical  labor  movement,  which  refused  to  yield  to 
persecution  or  to  be  side  tracked  by  governmental  ruses. 
The  organized  labor  movement  gave  a  new  impetus  to  the 
political  socialist  movement.  The  Social  Democratic 
Party,  originally  organized  by  Russian  political  exiles  in 
Switzerland,  soon  had  a  number  of  local  committees  in 
various  parts  of  Russia,  and  was  reenforced  by  the  organiza- 
tions of  the  Jewish,  Polish,  Lettish  and  Armenian  social 
democrats.  At  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  the 
Social  Democratic  Party,  secret  and  persecuted  as  it  .was, 
had  developed  into  a  power  of  no  mean  proportions,  and 
during  the  most  agitated  days  of  the  overt  outbreak  of  the 
Russian  revolution,  towards  the  end  of  1905  and  the  be- 
ginning of  1906,  it  was  this  party  that  led  the  movement. 

With  the  revival  of  the  socialist  movement  in  Russia, 
revolutionary  terrorism,  the  natural  child  of  unbridled 
autocracy,  gradually  reappeared.  This  movement  was  at 
first  represented  by  a  number  of  scattered  groups,  but  in 
1 90 1  the  large  majority  of  them  combined  their  forces  and 


APPENDIX  345 

created  the  party  of  Socialist  Revolutionists,  which  is  re- 
sponsible for  the  numerous  political  assassinations  preced- 
ing and  accompanying  the  present  war  between  the  govern- 
ment and  the  people  of  Russia.  It  is  impossible  at  this 
time  to  estimate  the  number  of  Russian  subjects  enlisted  in 
the  ranks  of  socialism  of  one  shade  or  another,  but  the  fact 
that  the  second  Duma,  elected  on  a  restricted  suffrage  and 
under  government  surveillance,  had  about  one  hundred 
socialist  members  (social  democrats,  socialist  revolutionists 
and  representatives  of  the  Group  of  Toil),  is  eloquent 
testimony  to  the  immense  spread  and  power  of  socialism 
in  Russia. 

Austria 

The  socialist  movement  in  Austria  is  closely  linked  with 
that  of  Germany,  so  much  so  that  in  their  earlier  stages 
the  two  movements  are  hardly  differentiated.  In  the 
famous  convention  of  Eisenach,  held  in  1868,  the  Austrian 
socialists  were  represented  as  well  as  their  German  com- 
rades. But  notwithstanding  the  common  beginnings  and 
intellectual  identity  of  socialism  in  the  two  countries,  the 
movement  in  Austria  soon  fell  behind  that  of  Germany. 
There  were  many  reasons  for  this  phenomenon,  chief 
among  them  being  the  industrial  backwardness  of  Austria, 
and  the  difficulty  of  carrying  on  a  systematic  and  uniform 
propaganda  of  socialism  among  the  many  heterogeneous 
nationalities  constituting  the  Austrian  Empire. 

The  beginnings  of  the  socialist  movement  in  Austria 
appear  in  1867,  when  the  Imperial  Council  granted  a  partial 
right  of  assembly  and  association  to  the  people  of  Austria. 
Two  years  later  the  movement  was  strong  enough  to  force 


346  APPENDIX 

the  government  to  revoke  its  ban  against  socialist  propa- 
ganda by  a  most  remarkable  and  unexpected  demonstra- 
tion on  the  streets  of  Vienna  (December  13,  1869).  The 
succeeding  period  (1870-1888)  is  principally  noteworthy 
for  the  dissensions  within  the  movement.  The  prac- 
tical disfranchisement  of  the  working  class  and  the 
brutal  government  persecution  had  bred  among  the  more 
radical  workingmen  a  spirit  of  embittered  pessimism  which 
made  them  unusually  susceptible  to  the  propaganda  of 
anarchism,  then  in  its  prime  all  over  Europe,  and  the  main 
work  of  Austrian  social  democracy  during  that  period  was 
to  combat  the  anarchist  movement.  The  turning  point 
of  the  socialist  movement  in  Austria  may  be  considered  the 
Hainsfeld  Congress  (1888),  which  marked  the  final  victory 
of  social  democracy  over  anarchism  in  the  Austrian  labor 
movement,  and  created  a  unified  and  well-organized  party 
which  has  since  been  making  rapid  and  steady  progress. 
In  the  parliamentary  elections  of  1907,  for  the  first  time 
held  on  the  basis  of  universal  suffrage,  the  Social  Demo- 
cratic Party  polled  over  1,000,000  votes,  electing  no  less 
than  87  deputies  to  the  Reichsrat. 

England 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  England  is  the  most  in- 
dustrial country  of  Europe,  its  socialist  movement  was 
rather  tardy  in  appearing  and  in  its  growth. 

The  organized  socialist  movement  of  England  may  be 
dated  from  the  formation  of  the  Democratic  Federation  in 
1881.  The  Federation,  called  into  life  by  H.  M.  Hynd- 
man,  Herbert  Burrows  and  a  few  other  well-known  social- 
ists, was  originally  not  of  outspoken  socialist  views,  but 


APPENDIX  347 

became  so  in  1883,  when  it  was  reorganized  under  the  name 
of  Social  Democratic  Federation,  The  Federation  has 
ever  since  continued  a  somewhat  uneventful  existence,  and 
is  to-day  the  orthodox  representative  of  Marxian  socialism 
in  England. 

In  1893  another  political  party  of  socialism  was  founded, 
principally  through  the  efforts  of  Keir  Hardie.  The  or- 
ganization assumed  the  name  of  Independent  Labor  Party, 
adopted  a  somewhat  broader  platform  than  that  of  the 
Social  Democratic  Federation,  and  laid  more  stress  on  the 
political  side  of  the  movement.  But  contrary  to  the 
expectations  of  its  founders,  it  did  not  acquire  a  much 
larger  following  among  the  working  classes  of  England 
than  the  older  organization. 

Besides  these  two  parties,  the  socialist  movement  of 
England  is  also  represented  by  the  well-known  Fabian 
Society,  founded  in  1883,  principally  for  the  purpose  of 
educational  propaganda  along  socialist  lines.  The  society 
has  published  a  number  of  popular  tracts  on  the  main 
aspects  of  theoretical  socialism  and  has  achieved  consider- 
able success  in  the  field  of  municipal  reform.  The  out- 
spoken socialist  organizations  in  England  are  not  a  factor 
of  great  importance  in  the  political  life  of  the  country, 
but  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  measure  the  strength  of  the 
socialist  movement  in  England  only  by  its  organized 
portions. 

The  socialist  sentiment  in  England  largely  expresses 
itself  in  the  radical  or  "new"  trade  unions.  These  trade 
unions  together  with  the  Independent  Labor  Party  and 
the  Fabian  Society  constitute  the  Labor  Party,  which  has 
32  representatives  in  the  House  of  Commons.  The  Labor 
Party  has  recently  adopted  a  very  radical  declaration  of 


348  APPENDIX 

principles,  and  it  is  the  masses  behind  that  party  which 
to-day  must  be  considered  as  the  main  factor  making  for 
socialism  in  England. 


^o* 


Italy 

The  socialist  movement  in  Italy  antedates  the  Interna- 
tional. When  the  latter  split  between  the  adherents  of 
Karl  Marx  and  Michael  Bakounin,  the  socialists  of  Italy, 
like  those  of  almost  all  southern  and  economically  back- 
ward countries,  sided  with  Bakounin. 

The  first  manifestation  of  socialist  political  activity 
occurred  in  1882,  when  several  scattered  socialist  groups 
united  for  the  ensuing  parliamentary  elections  and  nomi- 
nated candidates.  The  elections  gave  to  the  socialist 
candidates  about  50,000  votes,  4  per  cent  of  the  total  vote 
cast,  and  secured  the  return  of  two  of  them  to  parliament. 
Encouraged  by  this  success,  the  socialists  of  Italy  organ- 
ized a  national  Socialist  Party  in  1885,  but  the  party  made 
little  progress,  and  between  government  persecutions  and 
internal  dissensions,  it  led  a  very  precarious  existence. 

It  was  only  in  1892  that  a  socialist  party,  after  the 
general  European  model,  was  organized  in  Italy,  and  since 
that  time  the  socialist  movement  in  Italy  has  made  large 
and  steady  gains.  In  1907  the  party  consisted  of  more 
than  1200  local  groups  with  a  total  dues-paying  member- 
ship of  over  38,000;  it  had  25  representatives  in  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies,  and  had  control  of  about  100 
municipalities,  besides  having  representatives  in  almost 
all  other  of  the  most  important  cities  and  towns  of  the 
kingdom.  In  1904  the  party  polled  320,000  votes,  about 
one  fifth  of  the  total  number  of  votes  cast  in  the  country. 


APPENDIX  349 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  features  of  the  socialist 
movement  in  Italy  is  its  strength  among  the  rural  popula- 
tion of  the  country,  principally  the  farm  laborers;  the 
membership  of  the  Socialist  Party  is  largely  made  up  of 
them.  The  Socialist  Party  also  took  the  initiative  in 
organizing  these  laborers  into  an  independent  national 
organization.  In  1900  that  organization  numbered  over 
200,000  members.  The  organized  socialist  movement  of 
Italy  is  divided  into  several  camps  on  questions  of  policy 
and  methods,  but  that  does  not  seem  to  interfere  with  its 
work  or  progress. 

Belgium  and  Holland 

The  history  of  socialism  in  Belgium  and  in  Holland  is  so 
much  alike  in  many  respects,  that  it  may  well  be  reviewed 
together.  In  both  countries  the  movement  had  its  incep- 
tion during  the  last  years  of  the  International ;  in  both 
countries  the  split  of  the  International  in  1872  divided  the 
local  movement  into  two  hostile  camps  —  the  Marxists 
and  Bakuninists,  or  Social  Democrats  and  Anarchists  — • 
and  in  both  the  former  finally  prevailed. 

Belgium  possesses  the  stronger  movement.  The  first 
distinctly  socialist  political  organization  was  founded  in 
1885  under  the  name  of  Socialist  Labor  Party  of  Belgium. 
Notwithstanding  the  frequent  dissensions  and  heated  dis- 
putes among  the  Belgian  socialists,  the  movement  has 
made  rapid  progress.  It  has  a  large  and  influential  press, 
and  a  strong  organization.  In  igo8  the  party  polled 
about  half  a  million  votes  and  had  ^^  out  of  the  166 
members  of  the  Belgian  Parliament. 

The   activity   of   the   Belgian   socialists   is   principally 


350  APPENDIX 

marked  by  their  repeated  and  embittered  struggles  for 
universal  suffrage,  and  by  their  successful  organization  of 
cooperative  enterprises. 

The  first  political  organization  of  socialism  in  Holland 
was  the  Social  Democratic  Union,  founded  in  1878 ;  but  it 
made  but  little  progress  until  1893,  when  the  anarchistic 
elements  under  the  leadership  of  the  eloquent  Domela 
Nieuvenhuis  withdrew  from  it.  The  party  is  represented 
in  parliament  by  seven  deputies,  and  its  methods  and 
activity  are  practically  those  of  the  socialist  movement  of 
Belgium,  though  on  a  smaller  scale. 

The  Scandinavian  Countries 

Another  group  of  countries  whose  socialist  history  may 
be  reviewed  together,  is  that  of  Denmark,  Sweden  and 
Norway.  Of  these,  the  movement  of  Denmark  is  the 
oldest.  It  dates  back  to  the  days  of  the  International,  but 
the  present  socialist  organization  of  the  country,  the  Social 
Democratic  Union,  was  founded  in  1878.  In  1889  the 
Danish  socialists  elected  one  deputy  to  the  Folkething 
(parliament),  out  of  a  total  of  114,  and  in  1907  the  num- 
ber of  their  representatives  rose  to  28.  In  that  year  the 
party  had  over  35,000  dues-paying  members  and  no  less 
than  25  daily  papers;  it  was  also  very  successful  in  local 
politics,  having  elected  over  850  councilors  in  different 
towns  and  villages. 

The  movement  in  Sweden  was  initiated  under  Danish 
influence,  and  grouped  itself  around  three  socialist  papers, 
the  Social  Democrat,  published  in  Stockholm  since  1885, 
the  Arbetet  (Worker),  established  in  Malmo  in  1887,  and 
the   Ny  Tid    (New  Times),    founded    in    Gotheburg  in 


APPENDIX  351 

1889.  As  in  the  case  of  Belgium  and  Holland,  the  main 
activity  of  the  Socialist  Party  was  for  years  directed  to- 
wards the  conquest  of  universal  suffrage,  and  its  cam- 
paign in  that  behalf  was  as  picturesque  as  it  was  ener- 
getic and  effective.  The  party  has  15  representatives  in 
Parliament. 

The  socialist  organization  of  Norway,  the  Norwegian 
Labor  Party,  was  organized  in  1887,  but  it  constituted 
itself  as  a  socialist  political  party  only  two  years  later.  In 
the  elections  to  the  Storthing  in  1906,  the  party  polled 
about  45,000  votes  and  elected  ten  deputies;  it  also  has 
several  hundred  representatives  in  the  various  municipal 
councils,  a  number  of  them  being  women. 

The  distinguishing  feature  of  the  socialist  movement  in 
the  three  Scandinavian  countries  is  its  complete  fusion 
and  unity  with  the  trade-union  organizations.  In  fact, 
the  organized  workingmen  of  each  of  these  countries  up  to 
a  very  few  years  ago  constituted  but  one  party,  operating 
simultaneously  or  alternately  on  the  economic  and  political 
fields.  The  types  and  methods  of  the  socialist  movement 
in  the  three  countries  are  similar  to  such  a  point  that  joint 
conferences  or  conventions  of  the  socialists  of  Denmark, 
Sweden  and  Norway  are  quite  frequent. 

United  States 

In  the  early  part  of  the  last  century,  the  United  States 
was  the  chief  theater  of  communistic  experiments.  The 
disciples  of  Owen,  Fourier,  Weitling  and  Cabet  alike 
sought  the  realization  of  their  Utopian  ideals  on  Ameri- 
can soil,  and  during  the  decade  1840-1850,  Fourierism  in 
America  developed  great  strength,  both  as  an  intellectual 


352  APPENDIX 

movement  and  as  a  practical  experiment.  Among  its  ad- 
herents were  many  persons  of  national  reputation,  such  as 
Horace  Greeley,  Nathaniel  Hawthorne,  Charles  A.  Dana, 
Albert  Brisbane,  Margaret  Fuller,  George  Ripley,  John 
S.  Dwight  and  William  E.  Channing.  Among  its  ex- 
periments the  famous  Brook  Farm  and  the  North  American 
Phalanx  each  lasted  a  number  of  years. 

But  modern  political  socialism  made  its  first  appearance 
in  the  United  States  years  after  the  Fourierist  and  other 
Utopian  socialist  movements  had  died  out,  and  there 
seems  to  be  no  direct  connection  between  that  move- 
ment and  its  early  Utopian  precursors.  The  present 
socialist  movement  in  America  may  be  dated  from  1868, 
when  the  Social  Party  of  New  York  and  Vicinity  was 
organized.  That  party  immediately  after  its  formation 
nominated  an  independent  ticket,  but  its  vote  was  very 
insignificant,  and  the  organization  collapsed  with  its 
failure  at  the  polls.  The  Social  Party  of  New  York  and 
Vicinity  was  succeeded  by  the  General  German  Labor 
Association,  which  in  1869  became  the  first  local  organi- 
zation or  section  of  the  International  Workingmen's 
Association.  Between  1869  and  1872,  additional  ''sec- 
tions" of  the  International  were  organized  in  almost  all 
the  principal  industrial  centers  of  the  United  States  from 
New  York  to  San  Francisco.  The  socialist  movement 
thus  organized  by  the  International  at  the  time  seemed  so 
promising,  that  the  latter  transferred  its  general  council 
to  the  United  States,  but  after  a  few  years,  and  especially 
during  the  industrial  crisis  inaugurated  by  the  collapse  of 
the  Northern  Pacific  in  1873,  the  organization  rapidly 
disintegrated. 

The  fijTst  socialist  political  party  on  a  national  scope 


APPENDIX  353 

organized  on  American  soil,  was  the  Social  Democratic 
Workingmen's  Party,  called  into  life  on  the  4th  day  of 
July,  1874.  This  party,  together  with  several  other  then 
existing  socialist  organizations,  merged  into  the  Working- 
men's  Party  of  the  United  States  in  1876.  It  was  this 
party,  which  had  in  the  meanwhile  changed  its  name  to 
Socialist  Labor  Party  of  North  America,  which  main- 
tained the  undisputed  hegemony  in  the  socialist  movement 
during  twenty-three  years,  and  was  largely  instrumental 
in  laying  the  foundation  of  the  present  socialist  movement 
in  this  country.  In  1892  the  socialists  of  the  United 
States  for  the  first  time  nominated  a  presidential  ticket, 
and  they  have  since  that  time  invariably  adhered  to  the 
policy  of  independent  politics,  steadfastly  refusing  to  ally 
themselves  with  any  other  political  parties. 

But  notwithstanding  the  untiring  efforts  and  persistent 
propaganda  of  the  Socialist  Labor  Party,  the  growth  of 
the  socialist  movement  in  the  United  States  was  exceed- 
ingly slow  and  entirely  out  of  keeping  with  that  of  the 
movement  in  other  countries.     As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
movement    was    largely    borne   by    foreign  workingmen, 
principally  Germans,  and  until  the  end  of  the  last  century 
it  did  not  succeed  in  acquiring  a  foothold  in  the  broad 
masses  of  the  native  population ;  but  during  the  last  decade 
a  number  of  circumstances  have  combined    to  insure  a 
more  favorable  reception  to  the  gospel  of  socialism  in  the 
United  States.     The  rapid  industrial  development  of  tli^ 
country,  accompanied  by  the  growth  of  gigantic  trusts  and  \ 
powerful  labor  unions,  the  growing  intensity  of  the  overt    \ 
struggles  between  capital  and  labor,  and  the  collapse  of    \ 
the  populist  and  other  reform  movements,  all  served  to    j 
prepare  the  soil  for  the  socialist  seed.     Alongside  of  the    *' 

2A  ^ 


354  APPENDIX 

Socialist  Labor  Party,  largely  built  on  the  narrow  lines  of 
a  mere  propaganda  club,  a  new  party,  the  Socialist 
Party,  sprang  up,  absorbing  the  greater  part  of  the 
members  of  the  Socialist  Labor  Party,  and  attracting 
large  numbers  of  new  converts,  Americans  of  all  parts  of 
the  country,  recruited  principally  from  among  the  working 
class.  The  Socialist  Party  has  at  this  time  (1909)  about 
3200  local  organizations  in  the  different  states  and  terri- 
tories of  the  Union,  with  a  dues-paying  membership  of 
about  50,000.  It  polled  a  vote  of  423,969  in  the  presi- 
dential election  of  1908.  Its  press  consists  of  more 
than  fifty  periodical  publications  in  almost  all  languages 
spoken  in  America.  The  socialists  have  no  representation 
in  the  United  States  Congress,  but  they  have  lately  con- 
quered a  number  of  seats  in  several  state  legislatures 
and  municipal  councils. 

The  New  International 

When  the  International  Workingmen's  Association  was 
formally  dissolved  at  Philadelphia  on  July  15,  1876,  the 
last  members  of  the  expiring  organization  issued  a  proc- 
lamation of  which  the  following  is  a  part :  — 

'"The  International  is  dead!'  the  bourgeoisie  of  all 
countries  will  again  exclaim,  and  with  ridicule  and  joy  it 
will  point  to  the  proceedings  of  this  convention  as  docu- 
mentary proof  of  the  defeat  of  the  labor  movement  of  the 
world.  Let  us  not  be  influenced  by  the  cry  of  our  ene- 
mies !  We  have  abandoned  the  organization  of  the  In- 
ternational for  reasons  arising  from  the  present  political 
situation  of  Europe,  but  as  a  compensation  for  it  we  see 
the  principles  of  the  organization  recognized  and  defended 
by  the   progressive  workingmen   of    the   entire  civilized 


APPENDIX  355 

world.  Let  us  give  our  fellow-workers  in  Europe  a  little 
time  to  strengthen  their  national  affairs,  and  they  will 
surely  soon  be  in  a  position  to  remove  the  barriers  between 
themselves  and  the  workingmen  of  other  parts  of  the 
world." 

The  statement  was  prophetic.  Only  thirteen  years  later 
the  first  of  the  new  series  of  international  socialist  and 
labor  congresses  was  held  in  Paris,  and  it  was  followed  by 
six  more  as  follows :  Brussels,  1891;  Zurich,  1893;  Lon- 
don, 1896;  Paris,  1900;  Amsterdam,  1904,  and  Stuttgart, 
1907.  And  as  the  socialist  movement  grew  and  extended 
steadily  during  that  period,  so  did  each  succeeding  congress 
excel  its  predecessors  in  point  of  representation  and  gen- 
eral strength.  The  first  Paris  congress  was  attended  by 
391  delegates  (221  of  them  Frenchmen),  representing  17 
countries  of  Europe  and  the  United  States;  the  Stuttgart 
congress  was  attended  by  about  1000  delegates,  represent- 
ing 25  distinct  countries  of  all  parts  of  the  world. 

At  the  London  congress  of  1896,  it  was  resolved  to  try 
the  experiment  of  establishing  a  permanent  International 
Socialist  Bureau  with  a  responsible  secretary,  but  the 
practical  realization  of  the  plan  was  left  to  the  succeeding 
congress  of  1900,  which  definitely  created  the  Bureau  and 
prescribed  its  functions. 

The  International  Socialist  Bureau  is  now  composed  of 
two  representatives  of  the  organized  socialist  movement  in 
each  affiliated  country.  Its  headquarters  are  located  in 
Brussels,  Belgium,  and  are  in  charge  of  a  permanent  secre- 
tary. The  Bureau  is  the  executive  committee  of  the  in- 
ternational congresses,  and  meets  at  such  times  as  its 
business  requires.  In  the  intervals  between  its  sessions  it 
transacts  its  business  by  correspondence. 


356  APPENDIX 

During  the  experimental  period  of  its  existence  the  In- 
ternational Socialist  Bureau  seemed  to  hold  out  but  scant 
promise  of  accomplishing  practical  results  for  the  socialist 
movement.  But  within  the  last  few  years,  the  Inter- 
national Socialist  Bureau  has  rapidly  adapted  itself  to  the 
needs  of  the  movement,  and  to-day  it  is  a  useful  and  im- 
portant factor  in  the  socialist  movement  of  the  world.  It 
obtains  and  publishes  from  time  to  time  valuable  informa- 
tion on  the  progress  and  conditions  of  the  socialist  and 
labor  movements  of  all  countries ;  it  advises  on  matters  of 
socialist  legislative  activity,  and  it  organizes  the  interna- 
tional congresses.  The  Bureau  has  established  an  archive 
of  the  socialist  movement  and  has  collected  a  library  of 
socialist  works,  both  of  which  are  of  the  utmost  impor- 
tance to  the  students  of  socialism;  and  finally  the  Bureau 
has  often  served  as  a  medium  for  mutual  assistance 
between  the  socialist  and  labor  movements  of  the  dif- 
ferent countries. 


INDEX 


Alcoholism  as  a  labor  problem,  310. 
American  Federation  of  Labor,  239. 
Anarchism,  16,  334,  335- 
Anseele,  Edouard,  245. 
Argenijon,  Voyer  d',  328. 
Army,  uses  of,  296. 
Axelrod,  Paul,  344. 

Babeuf,  Francois  Noel,  323. 
Bakounin,    Michael,    334,    335,    341, 

348. 
Ball,  Sidney,  17,  94. 
Barbes,  Armand,  328. 
Bax,  E.  Belfort,  13,  49,  65,  80. 
Bazard,  Armand,  324. 
Bebel,  August,  89,  90,  130,  131,  135, 

138,  180,  281,  336. 
Bellamy,  Edward,  106. 
Bellom,  Maurice,  259. 
Benoist,  Charles,  94. 
Bentham,  Jeremy,  37,  43.  93- 
Bertrand,  Louis,  246,  247. 
Besant,  Annie,  no,  143. 
Bismarck,  Prince,  182,  193,  265. 
Blanc,  Louis,  326,  327. 
Blanqui,  Louis,  328,  338. 
Bliss,  WiUiam  D.  P.,  221. 
Bluntschli,  Johann  K.,  92. 
Boissel,  Franfois,  323. 
Bourgeois,  definition  of,  155. 
Braun,  Adolf,  218. 
Briand,  Aristide,  189. 
Brisbane,  Albert,  326,  352. 
British  Parliament,  origin  of,  150. 
Brooks,  John  Graham,  267. 
Brousse,  Paul,  338. 
Buelow,  Chancellor  von,  193. 
Buonarotti,  Filippo,  324,  328. 
Burgess,  J.  W.,  21,  93. 
Burns,  John,  189. 
Burrows,  Herbert,  346. 

Cabet,  Etienne,  326,  351. 
Candolle,  de,  128. 


Cathrein,  Victor,  106,  115. 

Central   Union   of   German   Societies 

for  Consumption,  250. 
Chabrouilland,  Felix,  196. 
Channing,  WiUiam  E.,  352. 
Chernyshefsky,  Nicholas,  341. 
Child  labor,  224,  231. 
City,  the,  under  socialism,  135. 
Civilization,  factors  of,  120. 
"Class,"  definition  of,  153. 
Class  ethics,  52. 

Class  hnes,  vagueness  of,  165,  167. 
Class   struggle,    the,    54,    60,    76,    95; 

doctrine   of,    153;    economic   basis 

of,  157- 

Commune,  the,  of  Paris,  333,  337. 

"Communist  Manifesto,"  the,  332. 

Competition,  moral  effects  of,  60; 
passing  of,  28. 

Comte,  Augusta,  22,  324. 

Conduct,  human,  38. 

Conservative  Party,  nature  of,  163. 

Considerant,  Victor,  326. 

Cooperative  Wholesale  Society,  Lim- 
ited, 244. 

Crime  and  vice,  303. 

Culture  under  socialism,  127. 

Curti,  Theodor,  279. 

Dana,  Charles  A.,  326,  352. 

Darwin,  Charles,  46,  51. 

Darwin's  theory  of  organic  evolution, 

46,  47- 
De  Leon,  Daniel,  133. 
Destree,  Jules,  245,  246. 
Deville,  Gabriel,  94,  337,  338. 
Dewey,  John,  36. 
Duncker,  Kate,  229. 
Dwight,  John  S.,  352. 


Economic  basis  of  party  politics,  161, 

163. 
Edison,  Thomas  A.,  122. 
Ely,  Richard  T.,  30,  32,  ij,. 

357 


358 


INDEX 


Employers'    funds    for   the   relief   of 

workingmen,  257. 
Enfiintin,  Barthelemy  P.,  324,  325. 
Engcls,  Frederick,  90,  91,  92,  98,  103, 

115.  154,  155.  311.  33^- 

Esbjerg,  municipal  experiments  in, 
201. 

Ethical  ideal,  58,  65. 

Ethical  motive,  45. 

Ethics,  definitions  of,  36,  37;  bio- 
logical school,  43;  hedonistic  or 
Epicurean  school,  42,  45 ;  intui- 
tional school,  41,  45;  school  of 
"natural  laws,"  41;  theological 
school,  40,  45;  utilitarian  school, 
43;  and  law  compared,  67,  69; 
and  socialism,  36,  65. 

Factory  reform,  215,  218. 

Ferri,  Enrico,  305,  306. 

Feudal  laws,  77. 

Feudal  society,  the,  development  of, 
72,  76;  nature  of,  72,  75;  class 
struggles  in,  76;    dissolution  of,  75. 

Fichte,  Johann  Gottlieb,  330. 

Ford,  Henry  Jones,  148. 

Fourier,  Charles,  106,  132,  137,  324, 
325.  326,  351. 

Franklin,  Charles  Kendall,  64. 

French  parliament,  origin  of,  151. 

French  Revolution,  8. 

Fuller,  Margaret,  326,  352. 

Genius,  place  of,  in  social  progress, 

121;      fate    of,     under    capitalism, 

127. 
George,  Henry,  291,  292,  293,  294. 
Germany,  Social  Democratic  Party  of, 

183. 
Ghent,  W.  J.,  161,  167. 
Giddings,  Franklin  H.,  93. 
Godwin,  Parke,  326. 
Goes,  F.  V.  d.,  23. 
"Good      Government"      movement, 

271. 
Government  ownership,  284,  288. 
Graham,  William,  106,  115. 
Greeley,  Horace,  326,  352. 
Gronlund,  Laurence,  106,  136. 
Grotius,  Hugo,  41. 
Gubsde,  Jules,  337,  338,  339. 
Guyot,  Yves,  i8. 


Haeckcl,  Ernst,  50. 

Hardie,  Keir,  347. 

Hawthorne,  Nathaniel,  352. 

Herkner,  Heinrich,  226,  227,  267, 

Hcrzcn,  Alexander,  340,  341. 

Hill,  Octavia,  316. 

Hirsch,  Paul,  307. 

Hobson,  John  A.,  226,  232,  234,  278, 

279. 
Hoffding,  Harald,  37. 
Housing  problem,  the,  314. 
Hunter,  Robert,  192. 
Huxley,  Thomas,  15,  59. 
Hyndman,  H.  M.,  346. 

Ihering,  Rudolph  von,  69,  71. 

Incentive  in  art,  124;  in  science,  124; 
to  work,  128. 

Indirect  results  of  the  socialist  propa- 
ganda, 193. 

Indirect  taxes,  definition  of,  289. 

Individual  genius  as  a  factor  of  social 
progress,  120;  in  public  life,  123; 
in  science,   122;    in    industry,   121. 

Individual   initiative,    scope   of,     123. 

Individual  the,  and  society,  18,  24; 
under  socialism,  29. 

Individualism,  the  system  of,  12;  in 
industry,  24. 

Industrial  reforms,  214. 

Initiative,  definition  of,  279. 

Insurance  of  workingmen  against 
accidents,  261;    sickness,  261. 

Intellectuals,  economic  position  of, 
160. 

Intemperance,  309. 

International  Workingmen's  Associa- 
tion, 85,  333,  334,  335. 

Jaurfes,  Jean,  138,  190,  338,  339. 
Jenks,  Edward,  150,  151. 

Kant,  Immanuel,  41,  43,  45,  50. 

Kari,  J.  K.,  190. 

Kautsky,  Karl,  60,  no,  116,  119,  132, 

133,  188,  189,  313. 
Kerr,  Charles  H.,  196. 
Kidd,  Benjamin,  22. 
Koehler,  Oswald,  no. 
Kotlyarevski,  S.,  177. 
Kropotkin,  P.,  20. 


INDEX 


359 


"Labor  Groups,"  135. 

Labor  movement,  functions  of,  9. 

Labriola,  Arturo,  138,  139. 

Lafargue,  Paul,  74,  33^- 

Lamennais,  Jean,  326,  327. 

La  Monte,  Robert  Rives,  56. 

Lassalle,    Ferdinand,    137,    179,    249, 

281,  289,  335,  336. 
Lavroff,  Peter,  341. 
Law,  the  substance  of,  66;  and  ethics 

compared,  67. 
Leroy-Beaulieu,  Paul,  94. 
Lesseps,  Ferdinand  de,  324. 
Liberal  Party,  nature  of,  163. 
Liebig,  Justus  Von,  311,  312. 
Liebknecht,  Karl,  298. 
Liebknecht,  Wiihelm,   107,   142,   143, 

173,  181,  182,  185,  336. 
Lille,  municipal  experiments  in,  199. 
Lindwurm,  Arnold,  68. 
Liszt,  Franz  von,  306,  307. 
Lloyd,  Henry  D.,  30. 
Lombroso,  Cesare,  303,  304,  305. 
Loria,  Achille,  81,  82,  83. 
Louis,  Paul,  164,  172. 
Luxemburg,  Rosa,  229. 

Mably,  Gabriel,  106,  323. 
Macdonald,  J.  Ramsay,  35. 
Machinery,  social  effects  of,  25. 
Maison  du  Peuple  of  Brussels,  246. 
Mallock,  W.  H.,  107. 
Malon,  Benoit,  no,  139,  142,  338. 
Marx,  Karl,  51,  52,  114,  115,  131,  154, 

iSS.  157.   179.  324,  33^,  33^,  333. 

335.  348. 
Marxian  socialism,  definition  of,  331. 
Massachusetts  Bill  of  Rights,  19. 
"May  Day  "    celebration,  origin    of, 

224. 
Menger,  Anton,  93,  99,  no,  135,  136, 

137.  142. 
"Middle  Classes,"  economic  position 

of,  160. 
Militarism,  evils  of,  297,  299. 
Militia,  system  of,  in  Switzerland,  300. 
Millerand,  Etienne,  187,  338,  339. 
"Ministerialism"  in  socialist  politics, 

187,  190. 
Modern  law,  nature  of,  81. 
Molkenbuhr,  Hermann,  191,   192. 
Monarchy,  socialist  view  of,  137. 


Money  under  socialism,  118. 
Moral  conduct,  meaning  of,  54. 
Moral  sense,  evolution  of,  46. 
Morelly,  106,  322,  323. 
Morgan,  Lewis  H.,  20. 
Morris,  William,  106. 
"Municipal  Socialism,"  194. 

Nieuvenhuis,  Domela,  350. 
"Nihilism,"  definition  of,  341. 
Novikov,  M.  J.,  22. 

Odin,  A.,  128. 

Old-age  pensions,  262. 

Ostrogorski,  M.,  269,  270. 

Owen,  Robert,  106,  328,  329,  330,  351. 

Parliaments  under  socialism,  139. 

Parry,  David  M.,  29,  107. 

Parsons,  Frank,  285,  287. 

Parvus,  239. 

Patton,  Francis  L.,  36. 

Peel,  Robert,  215,  218. 

Philosophy,  socialist,  3. 

Plekhanoff,  George,  344. 

Political  action,  objections  to,  171; 
advantages  of,  173. 

Political  alliances  with  the  old  parties 
as  a  danger  to  the  working  class, 
176. 

Political  centralization,  133. 

Political  parties,  origin  of,  146;  in 
France,  147;  in  Great  Britain,  146; 
in  the  United  States,  148,  165. 

Political  party,  attributes  of,  152. 

Political  reform  movements,  140. 

Politics,  definition  of,  144;  in  autoc- 
racy, 144;  in  countries  of  consti- 
tutional government,  145. 

Popular  initiative,  limitations  of, 
140. 

Production  under  socialism,  in. 

Professionals,  economic  position  of, 
161. 

Progres,  cooperative  society,  247. 

Progressive  income  tax,  definition  of, 
289. 

Progressive  inheritance  tax,  defini- 
tion of,  290. 

"Proletariat,"  definition  of,  155. 

Proportional  representation,  274. 

Proudhon,  Pierre  J.,  326,  327. 


36o 


INDEX 


Radical  Party,  nature  of,  164. 

Rae,  John,  223. 

Reeve,  Sidney  A.,  27. 

Referendum,  definition  of,  277;  Ini- 
tiative and  Right  of  Recall,  277, 
281;   limitations  of,  140. 

Reformation,  the,  12. 

Representative  assemblies,  attributes 
of,  149. 

Republic,  socialist  view  of,  137. 

Richter,  Eugen,  29,  106. 

"Right" and  "Wrong,"  meaningof,39. 

"Right"  and  "Wrong"  conduct, 
meaning  of,  62,  63. 

Right  of  Recall,  definition  of,  280. 

Riis,  Jacob  A.,  318. 

Ripley,  George,  326,  352. 

Ritchie,  David  G.,  96. 

Rochdale  Pioneers,  society  of,  243. 

Rodbertus,  Karl,  137. 

Rodrigue,  Olinde,  324. 

Rogers,  Thorold,  219. 

Roman  Empire,  fall  of,  8. 

Roubaix,  municipal  experiments  in, 
166. 

Rousseau,  Jean  Jacques,  14,  322. 

Saint-Simon,  Charles  Henri,  22,  137, 

324,  325- 

Sassulich,  Vera,  342,  344. 

Scevola,  Mucius,  23. 

Schaeffle,  Adolph,  115,  265. 

School  children,  feeding  and  clothing 
of,  197,  201. 

Schulzc-Dclitsch,  248,  249. 

Schurz,  Carl,  209. 

Scottish  Cooperative  Wholesale  So- 
ciety, 244. 

Servvy,  Victor,  251. 

Seymour,  Thomas  D.,  126,  127. 

Shaw,  G.  Bernard,  no. 

Shorter  workday,  218. 

Sidgwick,  Henry,  37,  43,  67. 

Simons,  A.  M.,  295. 

"Single  Tax,"  the,  291. 

Smith,  Adam,  14,  114. 

Social  classes  in  feudal  society,  73. 

Social  development,  laws  of,  20. 

Social  legislation,  cause  of,  85  ;  na- 
ture of,  85. 

Social  revolution,  the,  102. 

Social  Utopias,  106. 


Socialism  and  the  alcohol  problem, 
312;  and  the  cooperative  move- 
ment, 252;  and  individualism,  12; 
and   single   tax   compared,   294. 

Socialist  ethics,  63. 

Socialist  jurisprudence,  87. 

Socialist  Party,  composition  of,  169; 
beginnings  of  political  activity,  190; 
non-political  beginnings  of,  169; 
parliamentary  tactics,  181;  politi- 
cal tactics  of,  174;  political  iso- 
lation of,  176;  political  cooperation 
with  other  parlies,  179;  political 
achievements  of,  190. 

Socialist  politics,  "Ministerialism"  in, 
187. 

Socialist  reforms,  and  "middle  class" 
reforms  compared,  208;  nature  of, 
207,    209. 

Socialist  state,  the,  89,  98,  100,  105, 
143;  functions  of,  141;  probable 
size  of,  132. 

Socialist  working  program,  102. 

Society  and  the  individual,  18. 

Spargo,  John,  no,  230. 

Spencer,  Herbert,  29,  37,  38,  44,  58, 
59,  60,  61. 

Standing  armies  in  Europe,  297. 

State,  the,  definitions  of,  90,  96; 
attributes  of,  93;    functions  of,  18. 

Steffens,  Lincoln,  271. 

Stephen,  Leslie,  53. 

Stern,  J.,  129. 

Stewart,  Ira,  221,  223. 

Stirner,  Max,  15,  16. 

Struve,  Peter,  12. 

Suffrage,  restrictions  on,  170. 

"Surplus  Value,"  157. 

Tarnowsky,  B.,  304. 
Tax  reforms,  288. 
Thompson,  Carl  D.,  202. 
Toqueville,  Alexis  de,  146. 
Tortori,  Alfredo,  71. 
Trade-union  movement,  236. 
Trade  unions,  function  of,  237,  241. 
Trade  unionism  and  socialism  com- 
pared, 236. 
Transitional  state,  the,  98,  100. 
Trusts,  social  effects  of,  10. 

ITurgenief,  Ivan,  341. 
Turner,  George,  255. 


INDEX 


361 


Universal  Suffrage  movement,  272. 
Uomo  deliquente,  description  of,  304. 
"Utopian  socialism,"  origin  of,  321; 
forms  of,  322. 

Vail,  Charles  H.,  35. 

Vaillant,  Edouard,  260,  267,  298,  299, 

302,  338. 
Vollmar,  Georg  von,  281. 
Value,  socialist  theory  of,  156. 
Vandervelde,  Emil,  245,  246. 
Veblen,  Thorstein,  35. 
Viviani,  189. 

Voluntary  state  insurance,  258. 
Vooruit,  the,  245. 

Waldeck-Rousseau,  187,  339. 
Wallace,  Alfred  Russel,  49,  51. 
Ward,  Lester  F.,  21,  44,  52,  120,  125, 
12S. 


Wars,  causes  of,  61 ;    moral  effects  of, 

60. 
Wealth  as  incentive  to  exertion,  124; 

distribution  of,  28,  116. 
Weitling,  Wilhelm,  106,  330,  351. 
Williams,  C.  M.,  50. 
Willoughby,    William    F.,    225,    226, 

267. 
Woman  labor,  231;   growth  of,  233. 
Woman     Suffrage     movement,     273, 

281. 
Workingmen's  insurance,  254. 
Working  women,  wages  of,  233. 
Wright,  Carroll  D.,  92,  216,  217. 
Wurm,  Emanuel,  310,  311,  312. 

Zadek,  Dr.  J.,  221,  222. 
Zerboglio,  A.,  79. 
Zetkin,  Clara,  281,  282. 


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Institute  of  Industrial  Relations 

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